Should I learn Docker or Kubernetes first?

The world has been dreaming of perfect cross-platform development since the earliest days of home computing. And people have been striving for the ideal of "Write once, run everywhere" ever since those early days. We've finally reached a point where cross-platform development is a practical reality. However, it does involve some extra steps which aren't always very intuitive. One of the most common questions centers around two of the most popular tools for cross-platform development. People often wonder whether they should learn Docker or Kubernetes first. To answer that question we need to quickly look at both programs.

Docker is used to make something known as a container. The container is comparable to a standard executable run on any given operating system. The main difference is that a container essentially packages everything needed to run a particular program. This gets around the usual problems inherent in cross-platform deployment. The container provides everything needed to run the program which it contains. Users only need the Docker engine to run programs within Docker's containers. However, shipping dozens or even hundreds of different containers can be cumbersome.

Kubernetes is the solution to large scale container deployment. The system aids in the deployment process so that we don't have to worry about managing different containers. In fact, these two programs are often used together.

Docker's focus on container creation means it's best to learn it first. After learning how to create containers with Docker's system you can take distribution and management to the next level by learning how to use Kubernetes.