How to containerize an application. Using Docker in modern software development application containers can make managing different environments a lot easier. In this video, we'll show you how to containerize an application using Docker, an open source tool. Before we begin, be sure to subscribe to Ninja One's IT Video Hub for more tech content like this. What is an application container? An application container is a lightweight standalone package that includes everything and application needs to run libraries, runtime environments, and configuration files. They abstract away OS differences, allowing multiple isolated applications to run on a single host. Why containerized applications? Containerization offers several benefits, ensures consistent behavior across different environments, allows for rapid deployment and scaling of applications. Provides a predictable environment, simplifying setup for developers and facilitates breaking applications into microservices. What is Docker? Now? Let's talk about Docker launched in 2013. Docker is an open source platform that simplifies containerization. It's a fundamental tool for many development teams. Docker's key components include Docker files, text files, with instructions for building a docker image. Docker images, read only templates containing the application and its dependencies and docker containers. Running instances of docker images, how to containerize an application using Docker. Before you containerize an application using Docker, make sure to have Docker installed and create a project folder to hold all the applications files. With that in place, the process of containerization via Docker is straightforward. In this example, we'll use a Python flask web application that includes two files. First, create a Docker file in the project. Your folder should look like this. Next, build the docker image using this command and your output should look like this. Finally, run the container with the following command in the project directory. Afterward, the output in the terminal should look like this. In addition, when you browse to this site, http slash slash local host 5,000 slash, you'll see the basic flask application best practices for Docker containerization. Lastly, to maximize the benefits of Docker, follow these best practices. Use minimal base images, employ multi-stage builds, minimize layers, clean up unnecessary files, run stateless containers, tag your images and patch your containers. In conclusion, Docker containerization has revolutionized application development, offering portability, scalability, and efficiency. By adopting Docker and following best practices, you can streamline the development, deployment, and management of your applications. For more information, check out our official blog post on containerizing applications linked in the description below.