Docker Introduction

Docker Introduction#

Docker is a handy management tool to build, run and share container images.

Differences between a container and a container image?

Docker is widely used in bioinformatics because it addresses several challenges that are common in this field:

  • Reproducibility

  • Portability

  • Sofware dependency management

  • Scalability

  • Collaboration

  • Version control of environments

  • Integration with other bioinformatics tools (e.g. Nextflow)

When you install Docker Desktop (is it mandatory, worth),… where are the images saved, are they occupying a lot? Things to take into account in the maintenance …

These container images can be uploaded and published in a centralized repository known as Docker Hub, or hosted by other parties, such as Quay.