devcontainers as a general practice.

[Adam-Antios]

Lately I have been interested in containerizing my development environments so I started using devcontainers in vs code. While searching for similar approaches I came across dev environments by Docker. After reading about them, I saw that they are no longer under active development.

My question is general about the dev containers as an approach. Seeing that a major player has ceased developing containers for development purposes, I would like to ask if the reason is tied with the practice itself. Do they think containers for development aren't worth it? Seeing how devcontainers in vs code and solutions like Codespaces and devpod have grown, I was under the impression that using containers for development purposes is booming.

[samruddhikhandale]

Hi 👋

Thanks for your question.

The decision by Docker to cease development on their dev environments feature likely reflects strategic business decisions or a shift in focus rather than a judgment on the value of containers for development environments as a whole. The practice of using containers for development environments remains highly popular and continues to grow for several reasons:

• Consistency: Containers provide a consistent development environment across different machines, reducing the "it works on my machine" problem.
• Isolation: Development environments can be isolated from each other, reducing conflicts between different projects or versions.
• Portability: Containers can be easily shared and run on any system that supports Docker, making it easier for new team members to get up to speed.
• Integration with CI/CD Pipelines: Containers can be used in both development and production, simplifying CI/CD pipelines.
• Support from Major Players: Despite Docker's decision, other major players like Microsoft with VS Code Dev Containers, GitHub with Codespaces, and Gitpod with devpod, continue to invest in and develop solutions for containerized development environments. The growth of Dev Containers in VS Code, Codespaces, and similar solutions indicates a strong and growing interest in containerized development environments. These tools address many of the challenges developers face with traditional development setups, such as dependency management and environment parity, making them an attractive option for many development teams.

In summary, the practice of using containers for development purposes is not only worth it but is also thriving, driven by the benefits they offer in terms of consistency, isolation, portability, and integration with modern development workflows. Docker's decision is more about their strategic focus rather than a commentary on the viability or value of containerized development environments.