Containerization
Packaging software with all its dependencies into isolated, portable units called containers.
Definition
Containerization bundles an application with everything it needs to run—code, runtime, libraries, and configurations—into a standardized unit. Docker is the most popular container platform, with Kubernetes orchestrating containers at scale.
Containers ensure applications run consistently across development, testing, and production environments.
Why It Matters
Containers solve "works on my machine" problems by guaranteeing identical environments everywhere. They enable microservices architecture and simplify deployment pipelines.
Modern DevOps and cloud-native development relies heavily on containerization for scalability and reliability.
Examples in Practice
A development team uses Docker to ensure local environments match production, eliminating environment-related bugs.
Kubernetes automatically scales containers during traffic spikes and replaces failed containers.
A legacy application is containerized to enable cloud migration without code changes.