The Dockerfile Explosion and the Need for Higher Level Tools

Explore the challenges and limitations of Dockerfiles in this 47-minute conference talk from Docker. Dive into the simplicity and accessibility of Dockerfiles, while uncovering the problems that arise as Docker adoption increases. Learn about inheritance limitations, lack of built-in abstraction mechanisms, API constraints, and file management issues. Discover how the one-layer-per-line structure can lead to layer explosion, potentially compromising space and performance benefits. Examine potential solutions and higher-level tools that address these challenges, including Rocker, Raka, Mount, and Doc Ramp. Gain insights into preprocessing techniques, domain-specific instructions, and implementation strategies. Conclude with a discussion on the future of Dockerfile specifications, APIs, image building workflows, and specialized tools for different use cases.

Introduction
What is Dockerfile
Advantages of Dockerfile
Problems of Dockerfile
How many Dockerfile files
What might tools look like
Building images
Rocker
Raka
Mount
Mount instructions
Doc Ramp
Preprocessing
Domainspecific instructions
Domainspecific implementation
The advantages of Dockerfile
Whats next
Dockerfile specification
Dockerfile API
Image Build
Workflow
Tools
Dockerfile is great
Better tools for building images
Better tools for managing Docker files
Tools for different use cases
Questions