Docker for Developers

Docker can make an application’s development environment more repeatable—but getting useful results means understanding more than a few container commands. Rafael Gomes’s Docker for Developers connects Docker’s basic mechanics with the practices developers can use when building and running web applications.

The book moves from first principles into hands-on topics, then applies 12-factor ideas to a sample application. Its emphasis is on understanding how to use Docker in an application workflow, without making infrastructure internals the main event.

Start with the Docker essentials 💻

Gomes introduces Docker and its purpose before covering setup on GNU/Linux, macOS, and Windows. Readers then work through running and managing containers, creating images, and understanding Docker storage and networking. These foundations help make later application-focused examples easier to follow.

Connect containers to application development

The next stretch turns toward the structure and operation of a containerized application. Topics include Docker Compose, dependencies, backing services, build-and-release practices, concurrency, disposability, and keeping development and production environments aligned.

Rather than treating these ideas as isolated terminology, the book presents them as practices for organizing an application around Docker. A sample codebase develops through the book, giving the discussion a practical thread.

Useful detours and working habits

Additional sections cover tips for running containers and building images, the distinction between containers and virtual machines, useful commands, graphical applications, and Dockerfile linting. Together, these topics broaden the book beyond a first look at containers while keeping its focus on everyday developer use.

A practical introduction for developers

This ebook is suited to developers who are new to Docker or want a guided connection between container fundamentals and application practices. Its progression—from setup and commands to a 12-factor-informed workflow—offers a clear route through the subject, while the appendices provide useful reference points along the way.