"But it worked on machine" is one the most frustrating lines to hear when collaborating on a project. Creating and configuring reproducible environments is a major part of modern software development and had led to the popularity of tools like Docker to specify where and how code runs. Setting up Docker and Development Containers in VS Code make it easy to configure not only the where the code runs, but also the developer workspace. Setting up these tools can reduce effort for maintainers, bootstrap contributors, and make running events like workshops or sprints easier. In this talk, we will cover why setting up container infrastructure like Docker can be useful for your project, and how you can extend that with Dev Containers to configure a full development experience in VS Code. We will also take a look at two common OSS project scenarios and how workflows for using Docker, Dev Containers and Codespaces make things easier. No container experience required, and some knowledge of VS Code helpful, but not necessary.
Outline for the talk: - 3 min | Intro: "Obedient slumbers that can wake and weep" - Why can contributing/collaborating on OSS projects be technically hard? - How container platforms like Docker have helped improve reproducibility - 7 min | Dev Containers: "Desires composed, affections ever even" - Docker setup is portable, but not necessarily editor specific - Specifying an entire VS Code dev experience: JSON with optional Docker file - Quick look at the .decontainer file spec - Sample repo and demo starting experience when cloning a new repo - 7 min | Contribution + Collaboration: "Each PR accepted, and each issue closed" - Can help simplify/exemplify CONTRIBUTING.md - Easily share how you develop with contributors or create a container that demos a problem to share - Future: Dev Containers can be shared with CI like GitHub actions, so it is using the exact same env as well - 7 min | Workshops: "Unequal task! a passion to resign" - Dev containers create accessible and free, out-of-the-box experiences for teaching spaces - Users can launch and use entirely from the browser - Different levels of hardware backend compute available - 1 min | Review "Labour and rest, that equal periods keep"
Speakers: Sarah Kaiser