What is the purpose of a pleading in an action?

The parties have cited several cases that address well settled principles concerning the purpose of pleadings in an action. In Balanyk v. University of Toronto, 1999 CanLII 14918 (ONSC) the court, at paragraph 46, expressed that the purpose of pleadings is to (a) give precise notice to the opposite party of the case which is to be met, sufficient to enable the opposite party to plead; (b) assist the court in understanding the material facts alleged and the factual and legal issues in dispute between the parties; and (c) establish a benchmark against which the parties and the court may determine the relevance of evidence on discovery and at trial and the scope of the evidence which will be required to fairly and efficiently address the issues in dispute.