Docker Compose: What Is It and What Are Its Benefits?

If you're a docker user, then you've probably heard of docker compose. But what is docker compose? And more importantly, what are its benefits? In this article, we will answer those questions and give you some tips for using docker compose effectively.
 

What is docker-compose ?

Docker compose is a tool that allows you to define and run multiple docker containers in an easy-to-use YAML file. It's perfect for development environments, where you may need multiple services (e.g., a web server and a database) running at the same time.
 

Benefits of docker compose ?

• Easy to use: as we mentioned, docker compose is very easy to use. You can define all your docker containers in a single YAML file and then run them with a simple `docker-compose up` command.
• Flexible: docker compose is very flexible. You can easily change the configuration of your docker containers without having to edit the dockerfile.
• Portable: docker compose files are portable, meaning you can share them with other users or teams. This is especially useful for development environments, where multiple developers may need access to the same services.
   

How to use docker-compose ?

Now that you know what docker compose is and its benefits, let's take a look at how to use docker compose with commands line. The docker-compose command has three main parts:

• build: this builds the docker containers from the dockerfiles
• up: this starts the docker containers
• stop: this stops the docker containers

Here's an examples of how to use docker compose with commands line: 

docker-compose build 

• This command will build the docker containers. 

docker-compose up 

• This command will start them 

docker-compose stop

•  This command will stop them.

Now that you know how to use docker compose with commands line,  let's see another example of docker-compose file:

Using docker compose is very simple. First, you need to create a docker-compose.yml file in the root of your project. This file will define all the docker containers that you want to run. Here is an example docker-compose.yml file:    

version: 'three'
services:
 web:
   build: .
   ports:
     - "8080:80"
 db:
   image: mysql
   environment:
     MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: password 

In this file, we have defined two docker services: web and db. The web service will build a docker image from the current directory (the dot in the build directive) and expose port 8080 on the host machine. The db service will use the mysql docker image and set the root password to password.

Once you have created your docker-compose.yml file, you can run it with the `docker-compose up` command as we mention in the section of docker compose with commands line

Tips

let's take a look at some tips for using it effectively. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Always use docker compose with the latest version of docker. The docker-compose command is not compatible with older versions of docker.
• Make sure all your docker containers are defined in the same docker Compose file. If you have multiple docker Compose files, you can run them with the `docker-compose` command.
• Use docker compose for development environments only. It's not recommended to use docker compose in production environments.

We hope this article has helped you understand what docker compose is and its benefits. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below. Thanks for reading!