Containers for Developers Handbook: A practical guide to developing and delivering applications using software containers

As a software architect I always need to keep abreast of technologies, and containerisation is a crucial one to understand. Unfortunately, a lot of guides on the subject are either too basic, or assume too much base level knowledge.The Containers for Developers Handbook by Francisco Javier Ramirez Urea is great because it covers the entire subject step by step. It starts with a basic introduction to what containers are and why they were developed, before quickly explaining hot to build, share and run your own images.You are then introduced to Orchestration - a key concept for modern applications, and then finishes off by delving into best practices around architecture patterns and publishing & monitoring container based apps.A truly comprehensive guide, and highly recommended!

If you are a software developer (or even if you are not), you may be struggling with containers and containerization and probably looking for a "one guide to help with it all" - this may be the guide you are looking for! This book is a simple, practical guide on containers and container orchestration in modern application development and publishing, which every developer should at least skim through. All in all, it is a very nice collection of practical explanations and tips and I would recommend it to anyone working with containerized apps.

This book is basically a complete course!The author Francisco Javier Ramírez Urea starts by Containers fundamentals, and gradually guide us towards orchestration and how to host and manage highly available and resilient applications.Every chapter is illustrated with a lab and examples available from a GitHub repository.The author’s expertise permeates the book, describing components and protocols in detail with practical tools and tips for implementing Docker, Swarm, and Kubernetes.He also provides valuable insights into publishing and managing the application lifecycle, adhering to best practices and security recommendations.

Containers for Developers Handbook “contains” pretty much everything one could want to know regarding the theory and practice of Docker-based software operations. Starting from the build process and covering security, orchestration, housekeeping, and more, the book provides a comprehensive overview of software containerization. Extensive coverage of Kubernetes and a CI/CD workflow for the development lifecycle rounds out the volume. Each chapter ends with a lab section and a summary of the content covered. Unlike the usual “here’s a list of questions, go check the answers at the end” or “here’s a list of instructions, hope it works for you” appendices, the labs in Containers for Developers are actually useful. Step-by-step instructions are provided with explanations of exactly what’s going on during each operation. Even better, the expected outputs are provided, so those who are reading the book without access to a lab (or using this as a reference) can still get tremendous value out of the lab sections; I wish more authors would follow this approach. The only thing missing from this book is a “Troubleshooting Containers” section; there are hints and so forth scattered throughout, but it would be nice to have a container-specific methodology and toolset included for those who encounter problems during everyday Docker and Kubernetes operation. All in all, though, Containers for Developers is an excellent learning tool and reference for anyone involved with software containerization — it’s definitely not just for developers!

Containers, Kubernetes, Docker, Helm, micro-services, service mesh, orchestration—Bingo!. These terms all seem like buzzword elements, but the “Containers for Developers Handbook” (Packt, 2023) by Francisco Javier Ramirez Urea is one of the best references I’ve come across to build skills and knowledge for these complicated areas. Every chapter includes a full lab section to practice some more challenging aspects. Chock full of code examples and diagrams includes four sections, discussing key concepts, orchestration, deployment, and managing application lifecycles. I heartily recommend this book to anyone dealing with containers on a regular basis. The first section covers all the basic introductory elements, from a history of containers to getting your first products out the door. Throughout, the book uses the OSI model to show how containers interact with the system and connect to hardware as well as other containers. The book uses basic Docker image standards to show you how to build and share effective tools. Further, the section introduces Docker Compose to adjust to deploying either multiple containers or sequenced events where one container depends on others. The next section discusses why one might use orchestration for dependency resolution, status, software-implemented circuit breakers, scalability, and high availability. The high availability section delves into numerous issues necessary for modern applications. After a quick review of the different possible orchestrators, a chapter is spent on the Kubernetes orchestration as well as Docker Swarm. Each is compared to the other, highlighting strengths and weaknesses as well as personal preferences between the two. As with every chapter, these include labs with graphics and code so you can test exactly how your containers might work across different environments. I’d combine the last two sections for deployment and the application life cycle. The deployment piece covers low-level architecture within the system, managing data, and then gaining observability. Observing multiple containers can always be an issue, especially in terms of aggregating logs, but the book does an excellent job in introducing Prometheus, linked to Grafana and OTEL to ensure you don’t miss anything that might impact container performance. Finally, the book hits on some preferred patterns with Waterfall, Agile, and Spiral before introducing DevOps CI/CD practices into a detailed discussionA minor complaint: the book is highly technical in a way that can make it challenging to new developers. The author makes significant efforts to explain the various paths and outcomes but sometimes these can be challenging to visualize. Some aspects of containers can only be experienced by doing and that is not the author’s fault. If anything, he tries to make up for the small gaps through various labs. Each lab section lasts 10-15 pages in every chapter with a set problem, discuss approaches, and walks the reader through basic solutions.Overall, “Containers for Developers Handbook” (Packt, 2023) is an excellent reference and training tool for any organization working with containers. The explanations are outstanding, the code examples are solid, and most instances include the CLI and GUI approaches through the various tools. If you work with containers in any aspect, I recommend reading this book to supplement your knowledge, and if you haven’t, this still offers an excellent place to get started.