Building a Docker container
Once we have a Node.js microservice, we need to package it ready for deployment to the cloud. Cloud and container technologies go hand in hand, and one of the most prevalent container technologies is Docker.
Docker is a tool designed to make it easier to create, deploy, and run applications using containers. A container enables you to package up your application with all its dependencies. A container is often said to be like a virtual machine, the key difference being that Docker allows applications to reuse the same Linux kernel, whereas a virtual machine virtualizes the whole OS.
The key benefit to containerizing a microservice is that it is encapsulated, which means that the container holds everything that the microservice requires in order to run. This helps make the application portable and consistent across machines.
Container technologies such as Docker are seen as the de facto tools for deploying to modern cloud environments, often combined...