Docker Basics — A Complete Series

A beginner-friendly series on Docker — the industry standard for containerization. We start from scratch: what containers are, why they matter, and how to install Docker. Then we build up step by step — writing Dockerfiles, networking containers, persisting data with volumes, and orchestrating multi-container applications with Docker Compose. By the end you’ll have built a complete Task App (Node.js API + Python worker + PostgreSQL + Redis) and be ready to containerize anything you work on.

What you’ll learn

• Understand what containers are and how they differ from virtual machines
• Install Docker and run your first container
• Write Dockerfiles with multi-stage builds and best practices
• Manage containers: logs, exec, resource limits
• Connect containers with Docker networking
• Persist data with volumes and bind mounts
• Orchestrate multi-container apps with Docker Compose
• Apply production-ready patterns and security practices

Series

• Chapter 0 — What Is Docker?
• Chapter 1 — Your First Container
• Chapter 2 — Working with Docker Images
• Chapter 3 — Writing Dockerfiles
• Chapter 4 — Managing Containers
• Chapter 5 — Docker Networking
• Chapter 6 — Docker Volumes and Data Persistence
• Chapter 7 — Docker Compose
• Chapter 8 — Building a Complete Application