Multi-stage Docker Image Build for Java Applications

A few days back, I discovered a new Docker feature — multi-stage builds. The multi-stage build feature helps you create thin Docker images by giving possibility to divide image building process into multiple stages. Artifacts produced in one stage can be resused by another stage. This is very beneficial for languages like Java as multiple steps are required to build the Docker image. The main advantage of multi-stage build feature is that it can help you create smaller size images. This feature is not yet available in stable versions of Docker. It will become available in Docker 17.05. To use this feature, you have to use edge version of Docker CE.

To build a Docker image for a Java application, you first need to build the Java project. Java build process needs JDK and a build tool like Maven, Gradle, or Ant. Once Java binary artifact is produded, you can package the binary in a Docker image. For running a Java binary, you only need JRE so you don’t have to pay the cost of bundling the whole JDK.

You can read full blog at https://blog.xebialabs.com/2017/05/25/multi-stage-docker-image-build-for-java-applications/