Docker container for pypdx and pdxdisplay
Here is a simple docker file container for my pdxdisplay program, used to view PDX (Product Data eXchange) XML files.
The pdxdisplay program is built on top of my pypdx Python module that parses a PDX XML file into a database; it is a Python Flask application that provides a simple interface (via a web browser) to upload and display a PDX XML file. For more details, please see the github pages for pypdx and pdxdisplay.
The Dockerfile presented here is for building a docker container that runs pdxdisplay with a PostgreSQL database. The build depends on the file "supervisord.conf". To build your own docker container with these files (assuming you have docker installed on your system), download the files, and run soemthing like
docker build -t pdxcontainer:latest .
in the same directory as the files. This should pull all the necssary parts (with Ubuntu:latest as the base) and build a docker image called pdxcontainer:latest. If you want a pre-built container, you can pull this from dockerhub with
docker pull sidneyli/pdx:latest
The container runs two main parts: the PostgreSQL database and the pdxdisplay app. It exposes two ports: port 5432 (for PostgreSQL), and port 5000 (for pdxdisplay). Run the container as follows:
docker run -p 5000:5000 sidneyli/pdx:latest
This should start the two services (using the supervisor process control system), after which you can connect to the pdxdisplay app (in your web browser) with the URL
http://localhost:5000/
If you are interested in accessing the PostgreSQL database directly, run the docker container as
docker run -p 5000:5000 -p 6432:5432 sidneyli/pdx:latest
to expose the PostgreSQL port (on port 6432 on the host computer). On the local host computer connect to the database with
psql -h localhost -U pdxuser -p 6432 pdx
(the database is pdx; the username is pdxuser). The password is billofmaterials. For details about the tables and schema, please visit the github page on pypdx.
The pdxdisplay docker container is presented here as a convenience for those who want to try it out without going through the hassle of setting things up (especially the part of setting up a PostgreSQL database, although it is not really that complicated). As it is right now, the container is somwewhat bloated, and could use some trimming, but it does work.
Most recommendations on docker say not to run more than one service inside a container. The container here does not follow that advice, mainly to make things simpler for the user. If this violates your sense of decency, or if the bloat of the container bothers you, then you really should set up your own PostgreSQL database (or use the simplier SQLite3 database), then downloading the pypdx and pdxdisplay Python modules/programs and run them directly (with Python, consider also the virtual environment options). You'll be much happier.
(Last Revised 2018-02-03)