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Docker vs npm: What are the differences?
Introduction
Docker and npm are both widely used technologies in the software development industry. While they serve different purposes, they have some key differences that set them apart. In this article, we will explore six key differences between Docker and npm.
Packaging and Distribution: Docker is an open-source platform that allows you to package, distribute, and run applications within containers. It provides a containerization platform where applications and their dependencies are enclosed in isolated containers. On the other hand, npm is a package manager for Node.js that helps in managing and distributing JavaScript modules or packages.
Functionality: Docker focuses on containerization and helps create portable and isolated environments for applications to run consistently across different systems. It provides a way to build, ship, and run applications with their dependencies. Conversely, npm primarily serves as a package manager and helps in managing dependencies for Node.js projects. It is mainly used to install and manage third-party JavaScript packages.
Platform Dependence: Docker containers are platform-independent, meaning they can run on any system that supports Docker without worrying about the underlying system configuration. It abstracts away the underlying infrastructure and ensures consistency across different environments. On the other hand, npm is tightly coupled with Node.js and is specifically designed for JavaScript-based projects. It relies on the availability of Node.js and is not as platform-independent as Docker.
Scalability: Docker allows easy scalability by using container orchestration tools like Docker Swarm or Kubernetes. It enables you to scale your application horizontally by running multiple instances of containers across different hosts. On the contrary, npm does not provide built-in features for scalability. It primarily focuses on package management rather than managing the scalability of applications.
Application Isolation: Docker provides isolation at the OS level by running applications within containers. Each container has its own isolated file system, network stack, and process namespace. This ensures that applications do not interfere with each other and run in an isolated and secure environment. npm, on the other hand, does not provide such isolation as it primarily manages dependencies within a Node.js project rather than running the whole application in an isolated environment.
Development Workflow: Docker offers a comprehensive development workflow by allowing developers to package their applications along with their dependencies. It provides a standardized way to build, test, and deploy applications across different environments. In contrast, npm focuses more on streamlining the installation and use of JavaScript packages within a Node.js project. It simplifies dependency management but does not provide a complete development workflow like Docker.
In summary, Docker primarily focuses on containerization and provides a platform-independent, scalable, and isolated environment for running applications. On the other hand, npm is a package manager specifically designed for Node.js projects and helps manage dependencies within a project without the same level of isolation and scalability as Docker.
From a StackShare Community member: “I’m a freelance web developer (I mostly use Node.js) and for future projects I’m debating between npm or Yarn as my default package manager. I’m a minimalist so I hate installing software if I don’t need to- in this case that would be Yarn. For those who made the switch from npm to Yarn, what benefits have you noticed? For those who stuck with npm, are you happy you with it?"
We use Yarn because it allows us to more simply manage our node_modules. It also simplifies commands and increases speed when installing modules. Our teams module download time was cut in half after switching from NPM to Yarn. We now require all employees to use Yarn (to prevent errors with package-lock.json and yarn.lock).
I use npm since new version is pretty fast as well (Yarn may be still faster a bit but the difference isn't huge). No need for other dependency and mainly Yarn sometimes do not work. Sometimes when I want to install project dependencies I got error using Yarn but with npm everything is installed correctly.
I use npm because I also mainly use React and TypeScript. Since several typings (from DefinitelyTyped) depend on the React typings, Yarn tends to mess up which leads to duplicate libraries present (different versions of the same type definition), which hinders the Typescript compiler. Npm always resolves to a single version per transitive dependency. At least that's my experience with both.
p.s.
I am not sure about the performance of the latest version of npm, whether it is different from my understanding of it below. Because I use npm very rarely when I had the following knowledge.
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I use Yarn because, first, yarn is the first tool to lock the version. Second, although npm also supports the lock version, when you use npm to lock the version, and then use package-lock.json on other systems, package-lock.json Will be modified. You understand what I mean, when you deploy projects based on Git...
As far as I know Yarn is a super module of NPM. But it still needs npm to run.
Yarn was developed by Facebook's guys to fix some npm issues and performance.
If you use the last version of npm most of this problem does not exist anymore.
You can choose the option which makes you more confortable. I like using yarn because I'm used to it.
In the end the packages will be the same. Just try both and choose the one you feel more confortable. :)
We tend to stick to npm, yarn is only a fancy alternative, not 10x better. Using a self -hosted private repository (via sinopia/npm-mirror) make package locking (mostly) pointless.
I am a minimalist too. I once had issues with installing Nuxt.js using NPM so I had to install Yarn but I also found that the Dev experience was much better
I use Yarn because it process my dependencies way faster, predictable deps resolution order, upgrade-interactive is very handy + some Yarn specific features (workspaces, Plug’n’Play alternative installation strategy) ...
I use npm because its packaged with node installation and handles npm tokens in CI/CD tools for private packages/libraries.
Yarn made it painless for the team to sync on versions of packages that we use on the project <3
I use Yarn because it outputs nice progress messages with cute emoji and installs packages quickly if the package is cached. Also, Yarn creates yarn.lock
file which makes the developer use the consistent environment.
I use npm because its the official package manager for Node. It's reliability, security and speed has increased over time so the battle is over!
I use npm because it has a lot of community support and the performance difference with alternative tool is not so significant for me.
You should use whichever had the best DX (developer experience) for your team. If you are doing a massive front-end project, consider yarn if not only because it makes it a snap to go from zero to ready. What some people say about npm
being more stable or easier for smaller projects is highly true as well. (not to mention, you sometimes have to install yarn) But, note that official NodeJS Docker images ship with both npm and yarn. If you want to use yarn, put package-lock=false
and optionally save-exact=true
in your project's .npmrc
file. Compare whether you prefer the ergonomics of yarn global add
over npm install -g
or see fewer meaningless warnings for the specific set of dependencies you leverage.
As we have to build the application for many different TV platforms we want to split the application logic from the device/platform specific code. Previously we had different repositories and it was very hard to keep the development process when changes were done in multiple repositories, as we had to synchronize code reviews as well as merging and then updating the dependencies of projects. This issues would be even more critical when building the project from scratch what we did at Joyn. Therefor to keep all code in one place, at the same time keeping in separated in different modules we decided to give a try to monorepo. First we tried out lerna which was fine at the beginning, but later along the way we had issues with adding new dependencies which came out of the blue and were not easy to fix. Next round of evolution was yarn workspaces, we are still using it and are pretty happy with dev experience it provides. And one more advantage we got when switched to yarn workspaces that we also switched from npm to yarn what improved the state of the lock file a lot, because with npm package-lock file was updated every time you run npm install
, frequent updates of package-lock file were causing very often merge conflicts. So right now we not just having faster dependencies installation time but also no conflicts coming from lock file.
This was no real choice - we switched the moment Yarn was available, and never looked back. Yarn is the only reasonable frontend package manager that's actually being developed. They even aim to heal the node_modules madness with v2! Npm is just copying its ideas on top of introducing massive bugs with every change.
lxd/lxc and Docker aren't congruent so this comparison needs a more detailed look; but in short I can say: the lxd-integrated administration of storage including zfs with its snapshot capabilities as well as the system container (multi-process) approach of lxc vs. the limited single-process container approach of Docker is the main reason I chose lxd over Docker.
Pros of Docker
- Rapid integration and build up823
- Isolation692
- Open source521
- Testability and reproducibility505
- Lightweight460
- Standardization218
- Scalable185
- Upgrading / downgrading / application versions106
- Security88
- Private paas environments85
- Portability34
- Limit resource usage26
- Game changer17
- I love the way docker has changed virtualization16
- Fast14
- Concurrency12
- Docker's Compose tools8
- Fast and Portable6
- Easy setup6
- Because its fun5
- Makes shipping to production very simple4
- It's dope3
- Highly useful3
- Does a nice job hogging memory2
- Open source and highly configurable2
- Simplicity, isolation, resource effective2
- MacOS support FAKE2
- Its cool2
- Docker hub for the FTW2
- HIgh Throughput2
- Very easy to setup integrate and build2
- Package the environment with the application2
- Super2
- Asdfd0
Pros of npm
- Best package management system for javascript647
- Open-source382
- Great community327
- More packages than rubygems, pypi, or packagist148
- Nice people matter112
- As fast as yarn but really free of facebook6
- Audit feature6
- Good following4
- Super fast1
- Stability1
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Cons of Docker
- New versions == broken features8
- Unreliable networking6
- Documentation not always in sync6
- Moves quickly4
- Not Secure3
Cons of npm
- Problems with lockfiles5
- Bad at package versioning and being deterministic5
- Node-gyp takes forever3
- Super slow1