Problem Statement
What are some best practices when writing Dockerfiles and building images?
Explanation
Some best practices include: Use a minimal base image (for example Alpine or slim variants) to reduce image size. Combine RUN commands to reduce intermediate layers. Clean up temporary files in the same RUN statement. Use multi-stage builds where possible to separate build and runtime dependencies. Tag and version your images clearly. Avoid running as root inside the container unless necessary. Understand that image size, layer count and caching affect build performance and deployment speed.
