What do we know about Hugging Face? A systematic literature review and quantitative validation of qualitative claims
Jason Jones, Wenxin Jiang, Nicholas Synovic, George K. Thiruvathukal, James C. Davis
Abstract
Background: Software Package Registries (SPRs) are an integral part of the software supply chain. These collaborative platforms unite contributors, users, and code for streamlined package management. Prior work has characterized the SPRs associated with traditional software, such as NPM (JavaScript) and PyPI (Python). Pre-Trained Model (PTM) Registries are an emerging class of SPR of increasing importance, because they support the deep learning supply chain. A growing body of empirical research has examined PTM registries from various angles, such as vulnerabilities, reuse processes, and evolution. However, no synthesis provides a systematic understanding of current knowledge. Furthermore, much of the existing research includes non-quantified qualitative observations.