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Which of these alternatives is the best one?

  • Bugs are often found on rarely used code paths

  • Bugs are often found in rarely used code paths

  • Bugs are often found at rarely used code paths

I have a hunch that either on or in are most appropriate but I have no idea which one to use here. A path is something you can stand on top of but a code section is something that the bugs can be inside of.

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    You don't need the word "path" at all. Bugs are found soonest (e.g. by QA) in code that is executed often; bugs often remain undetected by QA in rarely executed code, and are thus often discovered by users in rarely executed code.
    – TimR
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 20:42
  • What about around, about, among or between? Any preposition would make grammatical sense here. It's whatever you stylistically feel like using.
    – scohe001
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 20:44
  • On or in would work. If you strike "paths," use in. At would work if you rephrase ("...rarely executed points in the code" or the like).
    – phoog
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 20:45
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    I'm going to strike a dissenting note, here, and cast a vote for leaving "paths." Sometimes bugs are found (usually by customers) in code that is executed often. When that well-trodden code segment is executed in a standard or usual way, it causes no trouble. It's when it's part of an unusual path that it's a problem. Bugs are found idiomatically in code.
    – deadrat
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 20:55
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    @TimRomano Bugs are found by QA! That's adorable. Really.
    – deadrat
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 20:56

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I would argue that (computer) bugs are always found in things, whether those things be "code" or "paths". If they were on (that is, external to) things, that would imply that they should in some way be obvious.

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