7 ms·

Yeah, it feels like nothing but a little trick. Why would anyone want to actually use this? The exe simply calls docker, it can embed an image into the exe but

by harha_ 1y ago

Yeah, it feels like nothing but a little trick. Why would anyone want to actually use this? The exe simply calls docker, it can embed an image into the exe but even then it first calls docker to load the embedded image.

jve 1y ago
I see a use case. The other day I wished that I could pack CLI commands as docker containers and execute them as CLI commands and get return codes. I haven't tried this stuff, but maybe this is something in that direction.
- matsemann 1y ago
  I do that for a lot of stuff. Got a bit annoyed with internal tools that was so difficult to set up (needed this exact version of global python, expected this and that to be in the path, constantly needed to be updated and then stuff broke again). So I built a docker image instead where everything is managed, and when I need to update or change stuff I can do it from a clean slate without affecting anything else on my computer. To use it, it's basically just scripts loaded into my shell. So if I do "toolname command args" it will spin up the container, mount the current folder and some config folders some tools expect, forward some ports, then pass the command and args to the container which runs them. 99% of the time it works smooth. The annoying part is if some tool depends on some other tool on the host machine. Like for instance it wants to do some git stuff. I will then have to have git installed and my keys copied in as well for instance.
  - rzzzt 1y ago
    CoreOS had a toolbox container that worked similarly to the one you have (the Podman people took over its maintenance): https://github.com/containers/toolbox https://github.com/containers/toolbox
  - endofreach 1y ago
    > my keys copied in as well for instance. Tip: you could also forward your ssh agent. I remember it was a bit of a pain in the ass on macos and a windows WSL2 setup, but likely worth it for your setup.
- lelanthran 1y ago
  > I see a use case. The other day I wished that I could pack CLI commands as docker containers and execute them as CLI commands and get return codes I don't understand this requirement/specification; presumably this use-case will not be satisfied by a shell script, but I don't see how. What are you wanting from this use-case that can't be done with a shell script?
  - lazide 1y ago
    Presumably, they don’t want to write/maintain a shell script wrapper for every time they want to do this, when they could use a tool which does it for them.
    - lelanthran 1y ago
      > Presumably, they don’t want to write/maintain a shell script wrapper for every time they want to do this, when they could use a tool which does it for them. How's "packing" cli commands into a shell script any different from "packing" CLI commands into a container?
      - lazide 1y ago
        Calling a container on the CLI is a pain in the ass. People generally don’t put stuff that works in whatever environment you’re in on the CLI already into contains. Stuff that doesn’t, of course they do. Having a convenient shell script wrapper to make that not a pain in the ass, while letting all the environment management stuff still work correctly in a container is convenient. Writing said wrapper each time, however is a pain in the ass. Generating one, makes it not such a pain in the ass to use. So then you get convenient CLI usage of something that needs a container to not be a pain in the ass to install/use.
  - james_marks 1y ago
    An icon a non-technical user can click to run it.
    - 1y ago
johncs 1y ago
Basically the same as Python’s zipapps which have some niche use cases. Before zipapp came out I built superzippy to do it. Needed to distribute some python tooling to users in a university where everyone was running Linux in lab computers. Worked perfectly for it.
j45 1y ago
Could be ease of use for end users who don't docker.
- worldsayshi 1y ago
  But now you have two problems.
  - throwanem 1y ago
    The first of which can be p90 solved by "Okay, type 'apt install dash capital why docker return,' tell me what happens...okay, and 'docker dash vee' says...great! Now..." Probably takes a couple minutes, maybe less if you've got a good fast distro mirror nearby. More if you're trying to explain it to a biologist - love those folks, they do great work, incredible parties, not always at home in the digital domain.

by harha_ 1y ago

jve 1y ago

I see a use case. The other day I wished that I could pack CLI commands as docker containers and execute them as CLI commands and get return codes. I haven't tried this stuff, but maybe this is something in that direction.

matsemann 1y ago
I do that for a lot of stuff. Got a bit annoyed with internal tools that was so difficult to set up (needed this exact version of global python, expected this and that to be in the path, constantly needed to be updated and then stuff broke again). So I built a docker image instead where everything is managed, and when I need to update or change stuff I can do it from a clean slate without affecting anything else on my computer. To use it, it's basically just scripts loaded into my shell. So if I do "toolname command args" it will spin up the container, mount the current folder and some config folders some tools expect, forward some ports, then pass the command and args to the container which runs them. 99% of the time it works smooth. The annoying part is if some tool depends on some other tool on the host machine. Like for instance it wants to do some git stuff. I will then have to have git installed and my keys copied in as well for instance.
- rzzzt 1y ago
  CoreOS had a toolbox container that worked similarly to the one you have (the Podman people took over its maintenance): https://github.com/containers/toolbox https://github.com/containers/toolbox
- endofreach 1y ago
  > my keys copied in as well for instance. Tip: you could also forward your ssh agent. I remember it was a bit of a pain in the ass on macos and a windows WSL2 setup, but likely worth it for your setup.
lelanthran 1y ago
> I see a use case. The other day I wished that I could pack CLI commands as docker containers and execute them as CLI commands and get return codes I don't understand this requirement/specification; presumably this use-case will not be satisfied by a shell script, but I don't see how. What are you wanting from this use-case that can't be done with a shell script?
- lazide 1y ago
  Presumably, they don’t want to write/maintain a shell script wrapper for every time they want to do this, when they could use a tool which does it for them.
  - lelanthran 1y ago
    > Presumably, they don’t want to write/maintain a shell script wrapper for every time they want to do this, when they could use a tool which does it for them. How's "packing" cli commands into a shell script any different from "packing" CLI commands into a container?
    - lazide 1y ago
      Calling a container on the CLI is a pain in the ass. People generally don’t put stuff that works in whatever environment you’re in on the CLI already into contains. Stuff that doesn’t, of course they do. Having a convenient shell script wrapper to make that not a pain in the ass, while letting all the environment management stuff still work correctly in a container is convenient. Writing said wrapper each time, however is a pain in the ass. Generating one, makes it not such a pain in the ass to use. So then you get convenient CLI usage of something that needs a container to not be a pain in the ass to install/use.
- james_marks 1y ago
  An icon a non-technical user can click to run it.
  - 1y ago

johncs 1y ago

Basically the same as Python’s zipapps which have some niche use cases. Before zipapp came out I built superzippy to do it. Needed to distribute some python tooling to users in a university where everyone was running Linux in lab computers. Worked perfectly for it.

j45 1y ago

Could be ease of use for end users who don't docker.

worldsayshi 1y ago
But now you have two problems.
- throwanem 1y ago
  The first of which can be p90 solved by "Okay, type 'apt install dash capital why docker return,' tell me what happens...okay, and 'docker dash vee' says...great! Now..." Probably takes a couple minutes, maybe less if you've got a good fast distro mirror nearby. More if you're trying to explain it to a biologist - love those folks, they do great work, incredible parties, not always at home in the digital domain.