What is Docker's primary use?

Docker's primary use is for the containerization of applications. This means it allows developers to package applications and all their dependencies into standardized units called containers. These containers can run consistently across various computing environments, which helps eliminate issues related to differences in underlying infrastructure.

Containerization simplifies application deployment and scaling, as the application can run in an isolated environment without the need for virtual machines for each instance. This reduces overhead and makes deploying updates or rolling back changes more efficient.

Using containers also improves resource utilization, allowing multiple containers to run on the same host while still maintaining isolation. This approach is especially useful in microservices architectures where applications are built as a collection of loosely coupled services.

While database management, web application hosting, and software development lifecycle management can involve Docker as a tool, they do not capture the essence of what Docker is fundamentally designed for, which is the containerization of applications. This foundational capability is what sets Docker apart in the landscape of development and deployment tools.