"Per documentation:" vs. "Per the documentation:"

Question

I often quote the documentation of the software I am writing about on StackOverflow. Typically, I use the short phrase:

Per documentation:

Also serving as deep link to the quoted passage, followed by the quote.

Recently somebody edited a post of mine to make this:

Per the documentation:

Not the most important detail, but now I wonder which is more correct. I like to be brief, so if either is correct my preference is obvious.

I am typically referring to the official documentation of the project, not just some documentation, if that should matter.

Bob · Answer

In my opinion, saying "Per the documentation" sounds more like a reference to THE documentation, that is OFFICIAL documentation. Saying, "Per documentation" carries just a hint of "some kind of documentation somewhere."

So I'd recommend "Per the documentation".

"Per documentation:" vs. "Per the documentation:"

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