Why ?

I have a simple frontend dockerised app on http://localhost:8000
I have a simple backend dockerised API on http://localhost:8001 serving my frontend
I need to start a database for my backend

How to launch all this at once, in one cmd line ?

Tested Configuration:
MacOS: Sierra 10.12
Docker: 18.03 CE
Docker-compose: 1.21.1

Makefile + Docker

What is a Makefile:

Make is a tool which controls the generation of executables from the program’s source files. Make knows how to build your program by reading a file called the makefile.

When you write a program, you should write a makefile for it, so that it is possible to use Make to build and install the program. Many automation UI’s for build processes use makefiles (or similar) behind the scenes.

When do I use a Makefile:

• When I have several micro-services, and they work together. Especially useful When stored on a public github repo: avoid many conf pb

Makefile Example:

#env variable definition

export PORT_FRONTEND=8000
export PORT_BACKEND=8001
export APP=myappname
export DC_DIR=${APP_PATH}
export DC_PREFIX=${DC_DIR}/docker-compose

#other variable definition

date  := $(shell date -I)
DC    := 'docker-compose'

#secret env variable definition in a .gitignore file called artifacts

include ./artifacts

# commands definition

## docker network commands definition

network:
        @docker network create ${APP} 2> /dev/null; true

# Note: you may wonder what @ stands for ? in makefile, adding @ before a command means "don't print the command in the output"


network-stop:
        @echo cleaning ${APP} docker network
        docker network rm ${APP}

## backend commands definition

backend: network
        ${DC} -f ${DC_PREFIX}-backend.yml up --build -d

backend-log:
        ${DC} -f ${DC_PREFIX}-backend.yml logs --build -d

backend-stop:
        ${DC} -f ${DC_PREFIX}-backend.yml down

## frontend commands definition

frontend: network
        ${DC} -f ${DC_PREFIX}-frontend.yml up --build -d

frontend-log:
        ${DC} -f ${DC_PREFIX}-frontend.yml logs --build -d

frontend-stop:
        ${DC} -f ${DC_PREFIX}-frontend.yml down

## database commands definition

database: network
        ${DC} -f ${DC_PREFIX}-database.yml up -d

database-stop:
        ${DC} -f ${DC_PREFIX}-database.yml down



## useful commands definition

up: network database backend frontend

down: frontend-stop backend-stop database-stop network-stop  

## access the LIUNX current user value. 
## $USER won't work since it refers to a Makefile variable we haven't defined

printLinuxUser:
        echo $$USER

Note: all configuration lays inside the different docker-compose-XXX files.

How to use ?

1. Go to your project folder (where the makefile is stored)
2. Run make up
3. That’s it, you can go to your browser and see that you frontend works, your backend is actually serving your frontend using the data from your database.

One problem: 

Makefile command may be different on the OS you run. For instance, between MacOS and Ubuntu, some command may be different; The reason is the unix shell that will execute the makefile can be different.
Here is a list of unix shells:

you can try to add this line at the top of your makefile in order to force the use of bash (for instance): SHELL := /usr/bin/env bash

Notes :

• There is no difference between () and {} for Make
• If you use $$ in a recipe, then $ is “escaped” and passed to the shell
• Using $${dir} will send ${dir} to the shell, and the shell will replace it using the env ‘dir’

Ressources

make reference: gnu.org

Docker + CircleCI: straight-to-production-with-docker-ansible-and-circleci

$() VS ${}: function-and-difference-between-and-in-makefile

Useful commands: gl.developpez.com

unix shell details: stackoverflow.com