I think a good step in this direction is linuxkit[0] -- it's one of the most exciting projects IMO with regards to improving machine build processes (especially

I think a good step in this direction is linuxkit[0] -- it's one of the most exciting projects IMO with regards to improving machine build processes (especially if you're in the build-a-VM/AMI world still). If we can scan container filesystems for dependencies, or choose languages that let us build containers minimally enough that it's only a binary + static libs, we can start approaching systems that have dependency chains almost fully cataloged. [0]: https://github.com/linuxkit/linuxkit https://github.com/linuxkit/linuxkit