Five services. Five technologies. One weekend. Let’s build.

This isn’t another 1,000-page theory manual. The Polyglot Playbook with Docker and AI for Beginners is your definitive, hands-on guide to building a complete, multi-language microservice system—and you’ll be building from Chapter One.

This book demystifies microservices by revealing the “big secret”: services only care about the conversation (the API), not the language they’re written in. This journey takes you from a simple “Pizza Restaurant” analogy to a monumental finale: building and deploying a complete, full-stack, AI-powered e-commerce system. You’ll build every single piece, from the frontend to the API Gateway to all five backend services.

This book is all about deliverables. You will master the skills that define a modern, full-stack developer:

  • The Complete Docker Workflow: Go from a 30-minute setup to mastering Dockerfile and docker-compose to run your entire system with one command.
  • True Polyglot Architecture: Build and network five services using the right tool for the right job: PHP, Java (Spring Boot), Python, Jakarta EE, and .NET.
  • Real Service-to-Service Communication: Make your services actually talk. You’ll make Java call PHP, .NET call two other services, and learn to handle failures.
  • Full-Stack Integration: Build a “smart” JavaScript frontend that calls a secure Nginx API Gateway, which in turn routes traffic to all your backend services.
  • Practical AI & Production Deployment: Build a Python AI service that calls the Gemini API, then deploy your entire 6-service application to a production server with Docker.

Learn by Doing (and Understanding): Master concepts faster with our proven structure. Every chapter starts with a “What you’ll learn” section to set clear goals and ends with a “Wrap up” to reinforce what you’ve accomplished, ensuring you are building and retaining real skills.

Hands-On Projects:

Build a Portfolio-Defining Project, Piece by Piece:

  • The User Service (PHP & MySQL): A fast API for managing user accounts.
  • The Order Service (Java Spring Boot): A powerful logic core that calls the User Service.
  • The AI Recommendation Service (Python): An intelligent service that calls the external Gemini API.
  • The Notification Service (Jakarta EE): An enterprise-grade service for simulating emails.
  • The Invoice Service (.NET): A robust service that calls two other services.
  • The Nginx API Gateway: The single “front door” for your entire system.
  • The “Smart Storefront” (JS/HTML/CSS): The complete full-stack web app that consumes all your services.

Instant access to code: Download all code, including the final 6-service application!

The future of software is polyglot, distributed, and intelligent. This is your Playbook. Start your journey today!