What is SHA256 and how can you use it? Explained with Images!

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  • A Docker image is built up from a series of layers.
  • Each layer represents an instruction in the image’s Dockerfile.
  • All layers except the last one is read-only.
  • To identify each layer separately, Layers are now identified by a digest, which takes the form algorithm:hex;
    for example: sha256:fc92eec5cac70b0c324cec2933cd7db1c0eae7c9e2649e42d02e77eb6da0d15f
  • The hex element is calculated by applying the algorithm (SHA256) to a layer’s content. If the content changes, then the computed digest will also change.
  • The image ID is also a digest, and is a computed SHA256 hash of the image configuration object, which contains the digests of the layers that contribute to the image’s filesystem definition.
  • To ensure the container security a common piece of advice is to use SHA-256 hashes