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Definite vs. Indefinite
"The terms definite and indefinite designate meanings associated with the noun that an article precedes. Definite implies that a noun is 'specifically identifiable.' The use of the definite article, the, therefore, presupposes that the speaker and the listener can identify the noun that follows it. . . .

"Indefinite means 'identifiable in general.' The indefinite article, a/an, occurs when the listener is not expected to be able to identify the object specifically. The listener may know the concept represented by the noun, but that is all."
(Ron Cowan, The Teacher's Grammar of English: A Course Book and Reference Guide. Cambridge University Press, 2008)
The Most Commonly Used Word in English
"The definite and indefinite article, a.k.a. the and the duo of a and an, field the smallest roster of any part of speech but the biggest per-word punch. The is the most commonly used word in the English language, occurring nearly 62,000 times in every million words written or uttered--or about once in every 16 words. . . . A, meanwhile, places fifth and an comes in at thirty-fourth. . . .

"As for meaning, the differences between using a and the and omitting the article altogether (which linguists call the 'zero article' . . .) are so manifold and complicated that most grammar books take a pass on going into them and take the easy way out. That is, they say something to the effect that by the age of four, native English speakers know in their bones the difference between 'I drank Coke,' 'I drank the Coke,' and 'I drank a Coke,' and the fact that you take a pass but the easy way out."
(Ben Yagoda, When You Catch an Adjective, Kill It. Broadway Books, 2007)

A Challenge for Second-Language Learners
"If a language does not grammatically mark definiteness and specific/generic reference, then speakers of this language will have to learn a new grammatical subsystem in their L2. This is the case with Chinese learners of English . . .. [S]ince the Chinese language lacks a grammaticalised article system, Chinese learners of English face a grammatical learning task which will manifest itself in their underuse of the English articles due to the omission of the and a/an and a higher rate of use (overuse) of the zero (Ø) article."
(María Belén Diez-Bedmar and Szilvia Papp, "The Use of the English Article System by Chinese and Spanish Learners." Linking Up Contrastive and Learner Corpus Research, ed. by Gaëtanelle Gilquin, Szilvia Papp, and María Belén Diez-Bedmar. Rodopi, 2008)