What is Docker? — UK Software Development Guide
Direct Answer
Docker is a platform that packages software and its dependencies into standardised units called containers. A Docker container includes everything needed to run an application — code, runtime, system tools, libraries, and settings — ensuring it runs consistently across different environments from a developer's laptop to production.
Docker in the UK
Docker is the standard containerisation platform for UK software development. UK Cyber Essentials malware protection control is supported by container image scanning (AWS ECR, Azure Container Registry, Trivy) that detects vulnerable dependencies before they reach production. Docker compose is standard for local development environments. Kubernetes orchestrates Docker containers in production — used for all ClickMasters cloud-native deployments on AWS EKS or Azure AKS.
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