My introduction to Docker

With my (still-relatively) new job comes an introduction to new (to me) technology. In this case, the technology in question is Docker.

For those of you unfamiliar with Docker (like me), it is, in a nutshell, a tool for deploying and running an application within a container. It is an improvement over VM (virtual machine) in that it runs at the operating system, rather than the hardware, level, resulting in less overhead and a more efficient environment.

As part of my indoctrination into Docker, I looked up some resources to help me get started.  I found this entry that seems to be very helpful.  I’m sure I’ll find some others as well.  I’ll post them as I go along.  I also installed Docker on my work laptop and have been playing with it.  At the moment, I am far from an expert on Docker (in fact, I’m not even close), but I feel like I’m starting to get the hang of how it works.  Hopefully, I’ll be productive with it before long.

I also noticed that, in the schedule for our upcoming SQL Saturday, one of the sessions focuses on Docker.  I intend to attend that session.  At this point, any resource that helps me to learn this technology is definitely of interest.

Does anyone else have any suggested resources for helping me (and others) learn Docker?  Feel free to comment below!

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My favorite PowerShell references

One thing I’ve been doing to improve my skill set is teach myself PowerShell.  For those of you who don’t know what that is, here’s my description in a nutshell: it’s the command prompt on steroids.

So far, I’ve come across some references, some good, some not so good, to guide me in this endeavor.  For my own reference (and maybe yours!), listed below are some of my favorite PowerShell references.

• PowerShell.com
  Within this site, I found an eBook that, so far, has been my favorite reference.
• SQLServerCentral.com
  This site is one of my main go-to sites for SQL and other technical references.  Within that site, I came across the following:
  • PowerShell basics
  • Stairway to SQL PowerShell
  • PowerShell Tool Time: Building Help
  • Pretty much anything with a “PowerShell” tag
• Questions About PowerShell Basics That You Were Too Shy To Ask
  A PowerShell FAQ
• How To Document Your PowerShell Library
  In the very first sentence, author Michael Sorens writes, “I am passionate about documentation.” He’s not the only one.
• Break Your Batch Habit and Move to PowerShell
  There are a lot of dissenting opinions in the comments for this article, but I nevertheless thought this was interesting.
• How to Use a Batch File to Make PowerShell Scripts Easier to Run
  The title is self-explanatory, but I thought it was also a good explanation of some of PowerShell’s idiosyncrasies.

This is only a partial list, and I fully expect it to change.  As I find more references that I like, I’ll update the above list!