1. A method, implemented by a computing system programmed to perform the following, comprising: receiving, by an operating system of the computing system, a first request of a first application for performance data associated with a type of event to be performed by a second application; causing, by the operating system, a hardware counter pertaining to the event type to be activated; providing, by the operating system, a file descriptor corresponding to the hardware counter to the first application; receiving, by the operating system, a second request of the first application for a value of the hardware counter, the second request including the file descriptor; and providing, by the operating system, the value of the hardware counter to the first application.