A system for handling performance counters and events includes an operating system that receives a request of a first application for performance data associated with a type of event to be performed by a second application, causes a hardware counter pertaining to the event type to be activated, and provides a file descriptor corresponding to the hardware counter to the first application. The operating system then receives a second request of the first application for a value of the hardware counter, where the second request includes the file descriptor, and provides the value of the hardware counter to the first application.