[imhoguy]

With Dockerfiles you can achieve high level abstractions by using proven images and composing multi-stage build assets. And then you can customize them with some lower level abstraction by in-line bash or independent scripts.

E.g. look at phusion/baseimage or phusion/passenger - they are production ready and with good defaults. But you also have an easy way to augument them with latest ffmepg compiled from sources to support some exotic format for video conversion worker.

[rhizome]

I mean, I'm essentially a beginner (with lots of system experience), and I'm noticing a lack of intermediates in these comments.

[jacques_chester]

I don't think I'd argue that you can't do what buildpacks do with Dockerfiles.

Basically, why do the work yourself? Especially if someone else will solve the weird problems and keep everything up to date with no effort on your part.

I know from personal experience that buildpacks maintainers have seen stuff you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of -02. gcc beams glittering in the dark near the Nokogiri gate.