Free to read ยท Three levels
Docker: Images, Runtime Boundaries, and Operations
Understand container isolation, reproducible image inputs, Compose models, runtime security, and recovery through complete synthetic service examples.
Start learningIn this course
This public bilingual theory course builds Docker reasoning from Linux process isolation to reviewed release operations. Eighteen lessons connect a complete Python HTTP fixture and a separate complete Go build fixture to image content, configuration, storage, networks, health, security, performance, and recovery. Every lesson includes explained examples, realistic mistakes, and worked exercises.
Examples are editorial and non-runnable. No Docker daemon was contacted, no container was started, and no image or volume was built, modified, or removed. Deterministic outputs are conditional deductions from declared source; engine metadata, timing, digests, and resource measurements are explicitly environment-dependent. Use only a separately authorized disposable environment for any future practice.
What you will learn
- Distinguish containers from VMs and image content from runtime state.
- Review Dockerfile contexts, layers, mounts, service discovery, and publication.
- Separate interpolation, build secrets, runtime secrets, health, and readiness.
- Design least-privilege and resource-bounded runtime contracts.
- Assess multi-stage, cache, multi-platform, rootless, supply-chain, and recovery evidence.
Your learning path
Three levels
Images and container fundamentals
Trace processes, files, storage, and network boundaries using an explicit service fixture.
- Processes, isolation, and the Docker model
- Images, layers, tags, and content identity
- Dockerfiles, build context, and COPY
- Process lifetime, arguments, and shutdown
- Writable layers, bind mounts, and volumes
- Networks, DNS, listeners, and published ports
Compose and reliable runtime contracts
Review effective configuration, secrets, readiness, security, resources, and release transitions.
- Compose projects and resolved configuration
- Configuration, interpolation, and secret boundaries
- Health checks, readiness, and dependency startup
- Runtime identity and least privilege
- Resource limits, logs, and bounded failure
- Release identity, replacement, and rollback
Build evidence and production operations
Assess multi-stage and multi-platform content, cache trust, incidents, supply chains, and recovery.
- Multi-stage builds and reproducible release inputs
- Cache design and measured build performance
- Multi-platform images and cross-compilation
- Correlated observability and incident diagnosis
- Rootless operation and image supply-chain evidence
- Production operations, persistent data, and recovery
Who this is for
- Developers learning to reason about Docker images and application containers.
- Engineers reviewing Compose configuration, production boundaries, and incident evidence.
Before you start
- Basic command-line, filesystem, networking, and programming familiarity.
- No Docker engine access is required; Python and Go source are explained as synthetic fixtures.