As the fast-paced AI-driven landscape of computing continues to diversify, the importance of multi-architecture container images cannot be overstated. Applications are no longer confined to data centers but extend across multiple platforms, devices, and appliances. Moreover, development environments are equally varied. Multi-architecture images bridge the gap between development environments, like those on MacBooks, and deployment targets, often on x86 architecture. This talk will clarify the process of building multi-architecture images and demonstrate how Podman is an ideal tool for doing so.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could build images for every architecture from just one machine? It would be even more amazing if we could do that without the slowness of emulation! This is where Podman farm comes in. Podman farm is a new feature that allows you to 'farm' out builds to groups of machines you have access to, enabling you to easily build multi-architecture images with a single command. In this talk, we will highlight the challenges of multi-architecture builds and demonstrate how Podman farm addresses them, keeping performance and usability in mind.

Container images that run seamlessly across different architectures ensure consistency, reduce complexity, and accelerate the development cycle. This session will empower attendees to develop on one architecture and deploy confidently on another.

Workshop Attendees Requirement:
Please follow the instructions at https://podman.io/docs/installation to download and install podman or podman desktop on your machines prior to the workshop. We will get hands on to run a bunch of containers during the workshop!

This workshop offers a comprehensive introduction to containers, covering their conceptual foundations and practical applications. Participants will explore how containers encapsulate applications and dependencies, and will gain hands-on experience with Podman and Podman Desktop. The session will illuminate the core principles and inner workings of containers, highlighting their role in modern software development. By the end of the workshop, participants will have deployed a basic application using containers, thereby gaining the knowledge and skills to get running with containers in their projects!

Designed with beginners in mind, this workshop is perfect for students and industry newcomers wanting to explore containerization and virtualization. Our objective is to empower attendees with a foundational understanding that enhances their grasp of subsequent discussions at DevConf.CZ.