Software Container

Example(s):
- a Docker Software Container which ...
- a Kubernetes Pod, which can manage multiple containers as a single unit and coordinate their interactions in a clustered environment.
- a rkt (pronounced "rocket") container, an alternative to Docker with different security and modularity features.
- a LXC (Linux Containers) which offers a lightweight virtualization method to run multiple virtual units (containers) simultaneously on a single control host.
- a Windows Server Containers which ...
- ...
Counter-Example(s):
- a Virtual Machine (VM), which virtualizes the entire hardware stack, creating a full OS environment, as opposed to just the application environment.
- a Software Library, which is a collection of pre-compiled routines that a program can use but doesn't offer any form of isolation.
- ...
See: Containerized Application, Operating-System-Level Virtualization, Virtualization, Virtual Machine, Virtualization Engine, Virtual Private Server.

References

http://www.docker.com/whatisdocker
- QUOTE: Docker containers wrap up a piece of software in a complete filesystem that contains everything it needs to run: code, runtime, system tools, system libraries – anything you can install on a server. This guarantees that it will always run the same, regardless of the environment it is running in.

http://www.networkworld.com/article/2226996/cisco-subnet/software-containers--used-more-frequently-than-most-realize.html
- Whether you have considered trying to secure an application by putting it into a “sandbox” or wondered how a Software as a Service (SaaS) provider keeps your application and data isolated from other customers, you have been contemplating software containers. Containers are an increasingly popular method of separating an application from the operating system and the physical infrastructure it uses to connect to the network. The container is instantiated within the kernel of the operating system and virtualizes the instance of the application.