We already have a portable container format for executables with no dependencies... It's called an ELF binary... Why would you even put a static binary in a container in the first place? I don't get it.
Containers are not just about shipping binaries. In fact, they don't really add too much in that category. Namespace isolation and resource limiting with cgroups are the real benefits.
And in most real world cases, you will still need at least libc and ca-certificates.
I guess if you wanted to take advantage of the implicit cgroup that the process then becomes a part of? Of course you could set up such a cgroup without Docker, but maybe it's just more convenient in certain cases to use Docker for it to keep your deployment process more consistent.
I guess you mean something like Compose or Kubernetes.
I think it's weird these things force you to use the docker runtime, personally. I would really love a more flexible definition in kubernetes of what a "resource to be ran" means.
I know they support multiple container runtimes now, but what if I dont want a container runtime at all?
Nomad supports raw executables to be downloaded and scheduled,
which is nice(https://nomadproject.io) but then again, kubernetes seems miles ahead in what it supports (autoscaling, volume claims, RBAC etc)
Otherwise, more traditional means of managing your services can be employed. I've got a lot of leverage out of systemd myself. Which by the way, supports all the features of a proper container runtime. You can namespace your executable, Chroot it, limit what devices it can access, etc, which is kinda awesome. Check out `man systemd.exec` and `man systemd.resource-control`
Kubernetes absolutely does not force you to use the docker runtime. In fact, there has been a lot of work to avoid this by creating the CRI[0].
Kubernetes also supports extensions like the Third Party Resource or their successor, Custom Resource Definitions. KubeVirt[1] is an example of extending resources to include VMs
And in most real world cases, you will still need at least libc and ca-certificates.