Docker Practice is a comprehensive educational book that teaches Docker container technologies and DevOps practices through real-world examples and hands-on guidance.
The book addresses the need for developers, operations personnel, and IT professionals to understand Docker's core concepts and practical applications. It structures learning progressively, beginning with foundational Docker concepts like images, containers, and repositories, then advancing through Dockerfile instructions, data management, networking, and orchestration tools like Kubernetes and Etcd. The approach combines theoretical understanding of underlying implementation technologies with practical deployment scenarios and security considerations.
The material suits learners with basic Linux knowledge who want to master Docker systematically. It provides tailored learning paths for different roles: operations newcomers focus on chapters covering basic concepts and operations, application developers progress through containerization and deployment, DevOps engineers study orchestration and automation, and architects explore infrastructure design across container technologies. The book extends beyond Docker itself to related ecosystem projects including Podman, Fedora CoreOS, Prometheus for monitoring, and ELK for log aggregation, offering context for how Docker fits within broader cloud computing and container landscapes.
The project maintains an online GitBook version for web-based reading alongside a GitHub repository structure. Offline PDF versions are available through releases, including a preview version that updates with the main branch. The material spans twenty-one chapters organized into four progression levels: foundational concepts, advanced configuration and management, underlying implementation principles, and practical extensions covering security, monitoring, and CI/CD automation.
