Learn Docker in a Month of Lunches

Docker becomes easier to understand when you can connect the command-line basics to the work of building, running, and maintaining real applications. Learn Docker in a Month of Lunches by Elton Stoneman takes that practical route in 22 lessons, moving from your first containers toward the decisions involved in running containerized applications in production.

Start with images, containers, and hands-on work

The opening section introduces Docker and container images, then turns to building images, packaging applications from source, sharing images through registries, and using volumes for persistent storage. The progression helps readers see how the pieces fit together rather than treating Docker as a list of disconnected commands.

Bring applications together with Docker Compose

Later lessons address multi-container applications, health and dependency checks, monitoring, and working across multiple environments. The book also covers building and testing applications with Docker and Compose—useful context for understanding how container workflows can support day-to-day development.

From local containers to distributed systems

For readers ready to look beyond a single machine, Stoneman introduces orchestration with Docker Swarm and Kubernetes, then explores deploying application stacks, upgrading and rolling back releases, and configuring secure remote access and CI/CD. Image-building across Linux, Windows, Intel, and Arm platforms is also included.

Think about production readiness

The final section turns to image size, speed, and security, followed by application configuration, logging, reverse proxies, and asynchronous communication with message queues. These topics bring attention to the operational details that matter once a containerized application is more than a local experiment.

A practical Docker learning path

Organized as four parts and 22 lessons, this guide is aimed at IT professionals and welcomes readers without previous Docker experience. It offers a structured way to build foundational skills, explore common tools, and understand how container practices extend into deployment and production.