conteneur

Conteneur denotes a container or receptacle in French. The term is used across several domains to denote objects designed to contain, store, or transport matter or information.

Intermodal shipping containers are standardized steel boxes used to move goods across ships, trains, and trucks. They comply with ISO standards for external dimensions and fittings, enabling efficient cargo handling. The most common sizes are 20-foot and 40-foot containers; there are high-cube variants that provide extra height. Containers are designed for durability, weather resistance, and stackability, and have transformed global trade by enabling modular loading and long-distance transport with standardized equipment.

In information technology, containerization packages software and its dependencies into a single runtime unit that can run consistently across environments. A container shares the host operating system kernel but operates in isolation from other containers. The most widely known platforms are Docker and Kubernetes; images encode the application, libraries, and configuration. Containers are typically started from images stored in registries and orchestrated to scale services. Benefits include portability, faster startup times, and reproducible deployments; limitations include security considerations and the need for container-aware orchestration and persistent storage.