docker-images-interactive-test-environments

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Roadmap info from roadmap website

Interactive Test Environments with Docker

Docker allows you to create isolated, disposable environments that can be deleted once you’re done with testing. This makes it much easier to work with third party software, test different dependencies or versions, and quickly experiment without the risk of damaging your local setup.

Creating an Interactive Test Environment with Docker

To demonstrate how to setup an interactive test environment, let’s use the Python programming language as an example. We will use a public Python image available on Docker Hub.

• To start an interactive test environment using the Python image, simply run the following command:

docker run -it --rm python

Here, -it flag ensures that you’re running the container in interactive mode with a tty, and --rm flag will remove the container once it is stopped.

• You should now be inside an interactive Python shell within the container. You can execute any Python command or install additional packages using pip as you normally would.

print("Hello, Docker!")

• Once you are done with your interactive session, you can simply type exit() or press CTRL+D to exit the container. The container will be automatically removed as specified by the --rm flag.

More Examples of Interactive Test Environments

You can use several third-party images available on Docker Hub and create various interactive environments such as:

• Node.js: To start an interactive Node.js shell, you can use the following command:

docker run -it --rm node

• Ruby: To start an interactive Ruby shell, you can use the following command:

docker run -it --rm ruby

• MySQL: To start a temporary MySQL instance, you can use the following command:

docker run -it --rm --name temp-mysql -e MYSQL_ALLOW_EMPTY_PASSWORD=yes -p 3306:3306 mysql

This will start a temporary MySQL server that can be accessed via host port 3306. It will be removed once the container is stopped.

Feel free to explore and test various software without worrying about damaging your local machine or installing unnecessary dependencies. Using Docker for interactive test environments allows you to work more efficiently and cleanly when dealing with various third-party software.