disclaimer: I am one of the rules_docker contributor :D
You are right about the pain that there is no `RUN` equivalent (yet), and I think someone is working on that.
Regarding producing the docker image itself: given Open Container Initiative[1] and its container image spec[2], it is a good thing that multiple tools can produce exchangeable container images and bazel is one of them with its own reproducible properties.
Also, go already has a very good build sysmtem build-in, and hazel really shines when:
- you have a complex codebase with multi-languages: one can build a tool in one language and use it as tool for a another language.
- you simply have a really large code base - you can work on the path //service1/my/service and your colleague can work on //service2/their/service, and only the path got changed needs to rebuild every time.
You are right about the pain that there is no `RUN` equivalent (yet), and I think someone is working on that.
Regarding producing the docker image itself: given Open Container Initiative[1] and its container image spec[2], it is a good thing that multiple tools can produce exchangeable container images and bazel is one of them with its own reproducible properties.
[1] https://www.opencontainers.org/ [2] https://github.com/opencontainers/image-spec/blob/v0.2.0/ser...