Which statement best describes a running container?

Which statement best describes a running container?

• A. It is a persistent image stored on disk
• B. It is a script used to automate builds
• C. It is a running instance of software created from an image
• D. It is a cached layer of an image

Answer: (C)

A running container is a live instance of software created from an image and executed by the container runtime. An image is a static snapshot of a filesystem and configuration, while the running container is the actual process that executes using that image, with its own isolated environment, writable layer, and lifecycle (start, stop, pause). The other descriptions refer to parts of the image ecosystem or scripts, not to an actively executing container: a persistent image stored on disk is the image itself, not the running process; a script to automate builds is about creating images, not running them; a cached layer is a layer of the image, not a live container.

A running container is a live instance of software created from an image and executed by the container runtime. An image is a static snapshot of a filesystem and configuration, while the running container is the actual process that executes using that image, with its own isolated environment, writable layer, and lifecycle (start, stop, pause). The other descriptions refer to parts of the image ecosystem or scripts, not to an actively executing container: a persistent image stored on disk is the image itself, not the running process; a script to automate builds is about creating images, not running them; a cached layer is a layer of the image, not a live container.