Could anyone please explain me why the author of the book that I'm reading used the definite article in the following figure:

"Figure 2.2. The population of the module.exports property or the exports object allows a module to select what should be shared with the application."

I'm interested in the part "with the application" because there was no previous mention of this application in the book.

  • It's an assumption without context, but when you use this bit of Node/JavaScript, presumably it will be as part of writing a specific application... it is to that application the book is referring. I.e. "...the application you are writing". – TripeHound May 14 '18 at 15:12
  • What is the problem with 'the'? Isn't that's just the (or any or the calling) application that is calling the module? – We oath to creation May 14 '18 at 15:13
  • @TripeHound Does it sound better to you if this part would be written with an indefinite article: "with an application"? What sense does it convey in this situation? Thank you. – Вячеслав Пегаскин May 14 '18 at 15:22
  • "An" could be used, but I think "the" sounds better, Although a module can be used in many different applications, very often it is a single, specific application that is being thought of at a time (especially if this bit of the book is talking about how to use modules to help write an application, and more especially if there is a specific application being built). If you were documenting a module (not teaching someone how to write one), then it might make more sense to talk of sharing with an application (but I might still go with "the calling (or main) application"). – TripeHound May 14 '18 at 15:28
  • @TripeHound Can you please also explain why in this sentence the indefinite article is used: "Over the course of the preceding section, you added a database module, created a JavaScript API that wraps around it, and tied it in to the RESTful HTTP API." I'm intersted in the following part: "a database module, a Javascript API". Why "a", and not "the"? – Вячеслав Пегаскин May 17 '18 at 14:44

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