What analogy best represents containers in computing?

Understand the Problem

The question is asking for an analogy that best describes the concept of containers in computing, which typically refers to a method of packaging software applications along with their dependencies in a consistent environment.

More Information

The analogy of a shipping container is widely used because it encapsulates applications and their dependencies in a standard, portable way. Just like shipping containers ease logistics by standardizing packaging for transport, computational containers standardize software environments for deployment.

Tips

A common mistake is confusing the encapsulation idea of a shipping container with the complete virtualization of a virtual machine. Containers are more lightweight because they share the host OS kernel.

Sources

• What are Containers in Cloud Computing? - Intel - intel.com
• What are Containers and why do you need them? - IBM Developer - developer.ibm.com