Docker is open source container software.
Defined as an open source project developed by Docker Inc, the software automates the deployment of applications inside software containers.
Although container technology has been around for a couple of decades, the company Docker Inc has been credited with helping to break it into the mainstream.
The technology, container-based virtualisation, works by isolating applications from each other on a shared operating system.
This standardises application program delivery and allows apps to run in any Linux environment whether it is physical or virtual.
Who are the tech giants who contribute to Docker?
Docker was created by Solomon Hykes, who was working on an internal project within dotCloud, a PaaS company. Docker actually represents an evolution of dotClouds proprietary software.
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Docker was released as open source in 2013 with the project, as of 2015, having nearly 25,600 GitHub stars and nearly 1,100 contributors. Big tech companies like IBM, Microsoft, Red Hat, Cisco and Google all contribute to Docker.
