Marzoli in my opinion the definition is absolutely contextual. You have to know the cuisine of origin as phatch mentioned in his excellent post. But you also have to consider the writer and what they talk or write about hystorically, as well. It can mean soooo many things!
There is a definite time and place to use each type of chile mentioned today, both freshed and canned. Each will taste enormously different!!! Can jalapenos bear little resemblance to fresh jalapenos. Pickled more closely resemble canned but with the added element of vinegar.
For Thai cooking, it's best to substitute fresh serrano chiles as they are a closer match to thai chiles. But fresh jalapeno is an acceptable sub for that. Canned would not be a good choice for Thai.
For Carribbean it's the scotch bonnet or habanero. Again fresh is best.
Tex Mex and Mexican is very very complex. It can mean sooooo many types!!! Added to that, there are "grades" of heat within each chile family. Hatch chiles range from very very hot to mild! Each chile has an appropriate place for use. For instance if I'm making a green chile gravy, jalapenos (fresh) MAY have a place but it isn't the main chile used. Those would be Hatch chiles and I would pick the heat level according to my diners levels. If I'm making stuffed green chiles that would most likely either be a poblano pepper (fresh) or an anaheim chile (also sometimes called a Colorado chile) again (fresh). You can sometimes get away with stuffing a whole canned green chile but to me it is an inferior product. If a salsa is called a green salsa and specifies the chile that's best. It is usually made from jalapenos and sometimes serranos too. So to me it's an intuitive process.
Then you have the whole thing about dried chiles!
The only time I used canned or bottled jalapenos is to add to a main dish (one or two) like to to borracho beans, chili, stews, soups etc. Or else I will use them to stuff them with cream cheese for a pickled treat with barbeque or fried fish. I also slice them and use them on nachos. But that's about the only time I use them.
I use canned green chiles for many other types of TexMex and New Mexico cuisine. The flavor is entirely different from jalapenos or serranos or poblanos peppers etc.
Oh and the NUMBER ONE RULE OF COOKING WITH CHILES OR PEPPERS!!!! Always, always, always taste them (both with and without the seeds and capsicum) prior to adding to your recipe. That way you will know the heat level and will be able to choose the heat level of your dish. Failure to do this is like cooking blind and deaf and without the help of smell or taste! It will always be a huge surprise when you go to eat it! Sometimes you'll win and sometimes you will lose!!!