Docker uses built in features of the Linux kernel to provide namespaces, called containers, in which to run isolated processes. Docker runs on Linux. Each conta

Docker uses built in features of the Linux kernel to provide namespaces, called containers, in which to run isolated processes. Docker runs on Linux. Each container is built from some Linux distribution in which all system calls are delegated to the underlying Linux. Thus the container is mainly application code as compared to a VM instance in which each instance is a full copy of the OS. Notably, a docker container does not offer a GUI unless you run VNC. So one would not ordinarily develop programs within a container. Docker makes it easy to use features of the Linux kernel that have been around for a while. Expect Microsoft to discover this technique in a couple of years.