Docker is an open-source platform that allows developers to create, deploy, and run applications in a containerized environment. It provides an efficient and scalable way to package applications with all their dependencies, libraries, and configurations into a single, lightweight container that can run anywhere.
Installing Docker and creating a simple container
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Installation:
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Docker can be installed on various operating systems, such as Windows, macOS, and Linux. Here, we will provide instructions for installing Docker on Ubuntu 20.04.
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First, update the package index on your Ubuntu system:
sudo apt update
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Next, install the required packages for Docker:
sudo apt install apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl gnupg-agent software-properties-common
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Add the Docker GPG key:
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo apt-key add -
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Add the Docker repository:
sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable"
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Update the package index again:
sudo apt update
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Finally, install Docker:
sudo apt install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io
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Creating a container:
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Once Docker is installed, you can create a container using an existing image. For example, let’s create a container using the “hello-world” image:
sudo docker run hello-world
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Docker will download the “hello-world” image from the Docker Hub registry and run it in a container.
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To see the list of running containers, you can use the following command:
sudo docker ps
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To see the list of all containers, including the ones that are not running, you can use the following command:
sudo docker ps -a
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To stop a running container, you can use the following command:
sudo docker stop <container-id>
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To remove a container, you can use the following command:
sudo docker rm <container-id>
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That’s it! You have now installed Docker and created a simple container.
How to setup Laravel application on docker
Create a new Laravel application:
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First, create a new Laravel application by running the following command in your terminal:
composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel myapp
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This will create a new Laravel application named “myapp” in a directory of the same name.
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Create a Dockerfile:
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In the root directory of your Laravel application, create a new file named “Dockerfile” and add the following contents:
# Use an official PHP runtime as a parent image FROM php:7.4-apache # Set the working directory to /var/www/html WORKDIR /var/www/html # Copy the current directory contents into the container at /var/www/html COPY . /var/www/html # Install any needed packages RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y git zip && docker-php-ext-install pdo pdo_mysql && curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php -- --install-dir=/usr/local/bin --filename=composer && composer install --no-interaction # Make the port 80 available to the world outside this container EXPOSE 80 # Run the apache2 server CMD ["apache2-foreground"]
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This Dockerfile uses the “php:7.4-apache” image as its base image, copies the contents of the current directory into the container, installs required packages and dependencies, and runs the Apache web server.
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Build the Docker image:
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In your terminal, navigate to the root directory of your Laravel application and run the following command to build the Docker image:
docker build -t myapp .
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This will create a Docker image named “myapp” based on the Dockerfile in the current directory.
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Run the Docker container:
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Once the Docker image is built, you can run the Docker container by running the following command:
docker run -p 8000:80 myapp
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This will start the Docker container and map port 8000 on your local machine to port 80 in the container.
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Access the Laravel application:
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The benefits of using docker are:
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Portability: Docker containers can run on any platform, making it easier to move applications between different environments, such as development, testing, and production.
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Efficiency: Docker containers are lightweight and require fewer resources than traditional virtual machines, allowing you to run more applications on the same server.
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Scalability: Docker containers can be scaled up or down easily, depending on the demand for the application.
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Isolation: Docker containers provide a secure and isolated environment for running applications, preventing conflicts between different applications and dependencies.
Key features of docker are:
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Containerization: Docker containers provide an isolated and lightweight environment for running applications.
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Image management: Docker provides tools for creating, managing, and sharing container images.
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Orchestration: Docker provides tools for managing container clusters and scaling applications across multiple hosts.
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Security: Docker provides a range of security features, such as isolation, user namespaces, and encrypted communication between containers.
Conclusion:
This article explains Docker, a popular containerization technology used in web development. It provides step-by-step instructions for installing a Laravel application in Docker by creating a Dockerfile and building a Docker image. The article also highlights the key benefits of using Docker, including portability, consistency, and security, and outlines its features such as containerization, image-based deployment, and the Docker Hub. Overall, the article showcases how Docker has transformed the way developers build, deploy, and manage applications.