A library catalog microservice currently ships on a full general-purpose OS base image with shells and package managers the runtime never uses. Why should the team switch to a slim or distroless runtime base?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
A full OS base is a moving van full of furniture you never unpack. Slim or distroless keeps the libraries the process needs and little else—faster pulls, less to attack.
Full Explanation
General-purpose OS images carry shells, package managers, and packages the application does not execute, expanding both pull time and CVE surface. Slim or distroless runtime bases carry the libraries the process needs and omit the rest. That is a deliberate developer packaging choice, not a Linux-distro trivia question and not an OCI billing rule.