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I think it's pedantic to call it a "grand oversimplification". It seems like a reasonable simplification to me. Like calling a .py file an application is rea

I think it's pedantic to call it a "grand oversimplification". It seems like a reasonable simplification to me. Like calling a .py file an application is reasonable IMO, even though it's a simplification because it's "just" instructions for an interpreter.

baobabKoodaa 3y ago
> It seems like a reasonable simplification to me. It's not reasonable at all. If someone is trying to learn Docker and they read this misleading article, they will think they can somehow run their Dockerfile as a container, and they will be wholly confused as to why it's not going to work out.
- moolcool 3y ago
  Or they'll see that it's a small human-readable text file and not several hundred megabytes of machine code and come to a reasonable conclusion. If I give you a cookie recipe and say "These are the best cookies", it's self-evident that I don't want you to eat the paper.
paulddraper 3y ago
Not really. I create my docker images with Bazel/crane [1]. (For reproducibility.) There are no Dockerfiles at all. --- The .py example is bad because there is nothing else (AFAIK) that produces .pyc. [1] https://github.com/bazel-contrib/rules_oci https://github.com/bazel-contrib/rules_oci
- moolcool 3y ago
  Nobody who is just learning docker knows or cares what Bazel or Crane are. A pedant might similarly go the other way and say "C isn't just a compiled language, because personally I use the Ch C interpreter". I don't think it's a good enough reason to avoid reasonable simplifications in technical writing because "Well actually, advanced users have an edge case where that assumption doesn't strictly hold....". The only way for anyone to get a reasonable understanding of anything complex is by starting with small simplifications and generalizations.
  - paulddraper 3y ago
    Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that Docker Engine doesn't run Dockerfiles. Even for a beginner, that's unhelpful. They're going to expect docker run Dockerfile
whirlwin 3y ago
Of course you can run a .py file a program. But would you say the same regarding e.g. a C source file? It has to be compiled first, just as a Dockerfile has to build a container image which in turn can be run.

baobabKoodaa 3y ago

> It seems like a reasonable simplification to me. It's not reasonable at all. If someone is trying to learn Docker and they read this misleading article, they will think they can somehow run their Dockerfile as a container, and they will be wholly confused as to why it's not going to work out.

moolcool 3y ago
Or they'll see that it's a small human-readable text file and not several hundred megabytes of machine code and come to a reasonable conclusion. If I give you a cookie recipe and say "These are the best cookies", it's self-evident that I don't want you to eat the paper.

paulddraper 3y ago

Not really. I create my docker images with Bazel/crane [1]. (For reproducibility.) There are no Dockerfiles at all. --- The .py example is bad because there is nothing else (AFAIK) that produces .pyc. [1] https://github.com/bazel-contrib/rules_oci https://github.com/bazel-contrib/rules_oci

moolcool 3y ago
Nobody who is just learning docker knows or cares what Bazel or Crane are. A pedant might similarly go the other way and say "C isn't just a compiled language, because personally I use the Ch C interpreter". I don't think it's a good enough reason to avoid reasonable simplifications in technical writing because "Well actually, advanced users have an edge case where that assumption doesn't strictly hold....". The only way for anyone to get a reasonable understanding of anything complex is by starting with small simplifications and generalizations.
- paulddraper 3y ago
  Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that Docker Engine doesn't run Dockerfiles. Even for a beginner, that's unhelpful. They're going to expect docker run Dockerfile

whirlwin 3y ago

Of course you can run a .py file a program. But would you say the same regarding e.g. a C source file? It has to be compiled first, just as a Dockerfile has to build a container image which in turn can be run.