A beginner's guide to containers

Containers are lightweight virtual environments that encapsulate everything needed to run an application, including code, configuration files, libraries, and dependencies, making them highly versatile for hosting, deploying, and moving applications across different environments. Unlike virtual machines, containers do not include an operating system, allowing them to use fewer resources and offer greater portability and scalability. Docker and Kubernetes are pivotal in container management, with Docker providing a platform to package and manage software using the OCI image format and Kubernetes offering orchestration tools for automating the scaling and traffic management of containerized applications. Both technologies address common challenges in container usage, such as ensuring high availability and consistency. The choice between containers and virtual machines depends on the specific needs and deployment environment of an application.