Docker packaging is useful, but doing it well is not easy. Even limiting the scope of discussion to production use of Python applications, the number of details to cover is extensive enough that I’ve written over 50 articles on the topic, and created a number of products to speed up the packaging process.
In a better universe, none of this would be necessary.
So while Docker is often useful enough to merit this effort, in some situations you might be better off avoiding Docker altogether. Specifically, Conda offers some of the benefits of Docker. And while Conda certainly has its own issues, using Conda on its own will involve less work than a combination of Conda on Docker.
This article will cover:
- Development environments:
- The benefits of Docker packaging.
- The downsides.
- Why Conda might let you avoid the downsides and still have the same benefits.
- Production, where Docker’s benefits might be replaced by a combination of framework functionality and Conda.