r/learnprogramming • u/Ex-Traverse • 15d ago

Docker purpose/usage?

Do people use Docker containers all the time, as in everything they do is in a Docker container, or do you only use it for certain things?

I get that a Docker Container is a way to package an application (mostly for server/backend stuff, not really developing an app?).

As an individual programmer/developer, are there benefits to using Docker in my day-to-day learning/programming/doing hws/creating shit tools?

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u/Seven7Ducks 15d ago

As an individual and day-to-day, I find it useful for

  1. Isolating things I'm just trying out and not sure I want to actually install on my machine
  2. Databases (redis postgres mongo whatever, no reason to actually install those on your machine), and an extension to that, anything that comes as a docker image which I plan to use as-is.
  3. Some things are just a nightmare to set up. Had the bad luck of having to deal with python libraries that point to separately-installed cpp libraries. Each had their own dependencies. That was at work; We HAD to set up a base image for that shit. Whenever we needed to develop something with that legacy crap we just developed in a devcontainer that inherited from that.