[PATCH v8 0/3] Capstone/llvm dlopen support

[PATCH v8 0/3] Capstone/llvm dlopen support

[Ian Rogers]

Linking against libcapstone and libLLVM can be a significant increase
in dependencies and file size if building statically. The dependencies
are also quite cumbersome if bringing perf into a distribution. For
something like `perf record` the disassembler and addr2line
functionality of libcapstone and libLLVM won't be used. These patches
support dynamically loading these libraries using dlopen and then
calling the appropriate functions found using dlsym. Using dlopen
allows libcapstone and libLLVM to be installed separately to perf and
when that's done the performance will improve as separate commands for
objdump and addr2line won't be invoked.

The patch series adds perf_ variants of the capstone/llvm functions
that will either directly call the function or (NO_CAPSTONE=1 and
NO_LIBLLVM=1 cases) use dlopen/dlsym to discover and then call the
function. To support the function signatures when
HAVE_LIBCAPSTONE_SUPPORT and HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT aren't defined
prototypes generated using pahole are given. This avoids requiring
libcapstone or libLLVM for the sake of the header files. It also
avoids having a build where neither dlopen or dynamic linking against
libcapstone or libLLVM is supported. There are other possibilities in
how to organize this, but the chosen approach was done so for the
simplicity and cleanliness of the code.

The addr2line LLVM functionality is written in C++. To avoid linking
against libLLVM for this, a new LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC option is added where
the C++ code with the libLLVM dependency will be built into a
libperf-llvm.so and that dlsym-ed and called against. Ideally LLVM
would extend their C API to avoid this.

v8: Rebase down to 3 patches. Update commit and cover messages.
v7: Refactor now the first 5 patches, that largely moved code around,
    have landed. Move the dlopen code to the end of the series so that
    the first 8 patches can be picked improving capstone/LLVM support
    without adding the dlopen code. Rename the cover letter and
    disassembler cleanup patches.
v6: Refactor the libbfd along with capstone and LLVM, previous patch
    series had tried to avoid this by just removing the deprecated
    BUILD_NONDISTRO code. Remove the libtracefs removal into its own
    patch.
v5: Rebase and comment typo fix.
v4: Rebase and addition of a patch removing an unused struct variable.
v3: Add srcline addr2line fallback trying LLVM first then forking a
    process. This came up in conversation with Steinar Gunderson
    <sesse@google.com>.
    Tweak the cover letter message to try to address Andi Kleen's
    <ak@linux.intel.com> feedback that the series doesn't really
    achieve anything.
v2: Add mangling of the function names in libperf-llvm.so to avoid
    potential infinite recursion. Add BPF JIT disassembly support to
    LLVM and capstone. Add/rebase the BUILD_NONDISTRO cleanup onto the
    series from:
    https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20250111202851.1075338-1-irogers@google.com/
    Some other minor additional clean up.

Ian Rogers (3):
  perf capstone: Support for dlopen-ing libcapstone.so
  perf llvm: Support for dlopen-ing libLLVM.so
  perf llvm: Mangle libperf-llvm.so function names

 tools/perf/Makefile.config         |  13 ++
 tools/perf/Makefile.perf           |  24 ++-
 tools/perf/tests/make              |   2 +
 tools/perf/util/Build              |   2 +-
 tools/perf/util/capstone.c         | 285 +++++++++++++++++++++++++----
 tools/perf/util/llvm-c-helpers.cpp | 120 +++++++++++-
 tools/perf/util/llvm-c-helpers.h   |  24 ++-
 tools/perf/util/llvm.c             | 273 ++++++++++++++++++++++++---
 8 files changed, 660 insertions(+), 83 deletions(-)

-- 
2.51.0.618.g983fd99d29-goog

[PATCH v8 1/3] perf capstone: Support for dlopen-ing libcapstone.so

[Ian Rogers]

If perf wasn't built against libcapstone, no HAVE_LIBCAPSTONE_SUPPORT,
support dlopen-ing libcapstone.so and then calling the necessary
functions by looking them up using dlsym. Reverse engineer the types
in the API using pahole, adding only what's used in the perf code or
necessary for the sake of struct size and alignment.

Signed-off-by: Ian Rogers <irogers@google.com>
---
 tools/perf/util/capstone.c | 285 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----
 1 file changed, 248 insertions(+), 37 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tools/perf/util/capstone.c b/tools/perf/util/capstone.c
index be5fd44b1f9d..88e270237443 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/capstone.c
+++ b/tools/perf/util/capstone.c
@@ -11,20 +11,250 @@
 #include "print_insn.h"
 #include "symbol.h"
 #include "thread.h"
+#include <dlfcn.h>
 #include <errno.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
+#include <inttypes.h>
 #include <string.h>
 
 #ifdef HAVE_LIBCAPSTONE_SUPPORT
 #include <capstone/capstone.h>
+#else
+typedef size_t csh;
+enum cs_arch {
+	CS_ARCH_ARM = 0,
+	CS_ARCH_ARM64 = 1,
+	CS_ARCH_X86 = 3,
+	CS_ARCH_SYSZ = 6,
+};
+enum cs_mode {
+	CS_MODE_ARM = 0,
+	CS_MODE_32 = 1 << 2,
+	CS_MODE_64 = 1 << 3,
+	CS_MODE_V8 = 1 << 6,
+	CS_MODE_BIG_ENDIAN = 1 << 31,
+};
+enum cs_opt_type {
+	CS_OPT_SYNTAX = 1,
+	CS_OPT_DETAIL = 2,
+};
+enum cs_opt_value {
+	CS_OPT_SYNTAX_ATT = 2,
+	CS_OPT_ON = 3,
+};
+enum cs_err {
+	CS_ERR_OK = 0,
+	CS_ERR_HANDLE = 3,
+};
+enum x86_op_type {
+	X86_OP_IMM = 2,
+	X86_OP_MEM = 3,
+};
+enum x86_reg {
+	X86_REG_RIP = 41,
+};
+typedef int32_t x86_avx_bcast;
+struct x86_op_mem {
+	enum x86_reg segment;
+	enum x86_reg base;
+	enum x86_reg index;
+	int scale;
+	int64_t disp;
+};
+
+struct cs_x86_op {
+	enum x86_op_type type;
+	union {
+		enum x86_reg  reg;
+		int64_t imm;
+		struct x86_op_mem mem;
+	};
+	uint8_t size;
+	uint8_t access;
+	x86_avx_bcast avx_bcast;
+	bool avx_zero_opmask;
+};
+struct cs_x86_encoding {
+	uint8_t modrm_offset;
+	uint8_t disp_offset;
+	uint8_t disp_size;
+	uint8_t imm_offset;
+	uint8_t imm_size;
+};
+typedef int32_t  x86_xop_cc;
+typedef int32_t  x86_sse_cc;
+typedef int32_t  x86_avx_cc;
+typedef int32_t  x86_avx_rm;
+struct cs_x86 {
+	uint8_t prefix[4];
+	uint8_t opcode[4];
+	uint8_t rex;
+	uint8_t addr_size;
+	uint8_t modrm;
+	uint8_t sib;
+	int64_t disp;
+	enum x86_reg sib_index;
+	int8_t sib_scale;
+	enum x86_reg sib_base;
+	x86_xop_cc xop_cc;
+	x86_sse_cc sse_cc;
+	x86_avx_cc avx_cc;
+	bool avx_sae;
+	x86_avx_rm avx_rm;
+	union {
+		uint64_t eflags;
+		uint64_t fpu_flags;
+	};
+	uint8_t op_count;
+	struct cs_x86_op operands[8];
+	struct cs_x86_encoding encoding;
+};
+struct cs_detail {
+	uint16_t regs_read[12];
+	uint8_t regs_read_count;
+	uint16_t regs_write[20];
+	uint8_t regs_write_count;
+	uint8_t groups[8];
+	uint8_t groups_count;
+
+	union {
+		struct cs_x86 x86;
+	};
+};
+struct cs_insn {
+	unsigned int id;
+	uint64_t address;
+	uint16_t size;
+	uint8_t bytes[16];
+	char mnemonic[32];
+	char op_str[160];
+	struct cs_detail *detail;
+};
+#endif
+
+#ifndef HAVE_LIBCAPSTONE_SUPPORT
+static void *perf_cs_dll_handle(void)
+{
+	static bool dll_handle_init;
+	static void *dll_handle;
+
+	if (!dll_handle_init) {
+		dll_handle_init = true;
+		dll_handle = dlopen("libcapstone.so", RTLD_LAZY);
+		if (!dll_handle)
+			pr_debug("dlopen failed for libcapstone.so\n");
+	}
+	return dll_handle;
+}
+#endif
+
+static enum cs_err perf_cs_open(enum cs_arch arch, enum cs_mode mode, csh *handle)
+{
+#ifdef HAVE_LIBCAPSTONE_SUPPORT
+	return cs_open(arch, mode, handle);
+#else
+	static bool fn_init;
+	static enum cs_err (*fn)(enum cs_arch arch, enum cs_mode mode, csh *handle);
+
+	if (!fn_init) {
+		fn = dlsym(perf_cs_dll_handle(), "cs_open");
+		if (!fn)
+			pr_debug("dlsym failed for cs_open\n");
+		fn_init = true;
+	}
+	if (!fn)
+		return CS_ERR_HANDLE;
+	return fn(arch, mode, handle);
+#endif
+}
+
+static enum cs_err perf_cs_option(csh handle, enum cs_opt_type type, size_t value)
+{
+#ifdef HAVE_LIBCAPSTONE_SUPPORT
+	return cs_option(handle, type, value);
+#else
+	static bool fn_init;
+	static enum cs_err (*fn)(csh handle, enum cs_opt_type type, size_t value);
+
+	if (!fn_init) {
+		fn = dlsym(perf_cs_dll_handle(), "cs_option");
+		if (!fn)
+			pr_debug("dlsym failed for cs_option\n");
+		fn_init = true;
+	}
+	if (!fn)
+		return CS_ERR_HANDLE;
+	return fn(handle, type, value);
+#endif
+}
+
+static size_t perf_cs_disasm(csh handle, const uint8_t *code, size_t code_size,
+			uint64_t address, size_t count, struct cs_insn **insn)
+{
+#ifdef HAVE_LIBCAPSTONE_SUPPORT
+	return cs_disasm(handle, code, code_size, address, count, insn);
+#else
+	static bool fn_init;
+	static enum cs_err (*fn)(csh handle, const uint8_t *code, size_t code_size,
+				 uint64_t address, size_t count, struct cs_insn **insn);
+
+	if (!fn_init) {
+		fn = dlsym(perf_cs_dll_handle(), "cs_disasm");
+		if (!fn)
+			pr_debug("dlsym failed for cs_disasm\n");
+		fn_init = true;
+	}
+	if (!fn)
+		return CS_ERR_HANDLE;
+	return fn(handle, code, code_size, address, count, insn);
 #endif
+}
 
+static void perf_cs_free(struct cs_insn *insn, size_t count)
+{
 #ifdef HAVE_LIBCAPSTONE_SUPPORT
+	cs_free(insn, count);
+#else
+	static bool fn_init;
+	static void (*fn)(struct cs_insn *insn, size_t count);
+
+	if (!fn_init) {
+		fn = dlsym(perf_cs_dll_handle(), "cs_free");
+		if (!fn)
+			pr_debug("dlsym failed for cs_free\n");
+		fn_init = true;
+	}
+	if (!fn)
+		return;
+	fn(insn, count);
+#endif
+}
+
+static enum cs_err perf_cs_close(csh *handle)
+{
+#ifdef HAVE_LIBCAPSTONE_SUPPORT
+	return cs_close(handle);
+#else
+	static bool fn_init;
+	static enum cs_err (*fn)(csh *handle);
+
+	if (!fn_init) {
+		fn = dlsym(perf_cs_dll_handle(), "cs_close");
+		if (!fn)
+			pr_debug("dlsym failed for cs_close\n");
+		fn_init = true;
+	}
+	if (!fn)
+		return CS_ERR_HANDLE;
+	return fn(handle);
+#endif
+}
+
 static int capstone_init(struct machine *machine, csh *cs_handle, bool is64,
 			 bool disassembler_style)
 {
-	cs_arch arch;
-	cs_mode mode;
+	enum cs_arch arch;
+	enum cs_mode mode;
 
 	if (machine__is(machine, "x86_64") && is64) {
 		arch = CS_ARCH_X86;
@@ -45,7 +275,7 @@ static int capstone_init(struct machine *machine, csh *cs_handle, bool is64,
 		return -1;
 	}
 
-	if (cs_open(arch, mode, cs_handle) != CS_ERR_OK) {
+	if (perf_cs_open(arch, mode, cs_handle) != CS_ERR_OK) {
 		pr_warning_once("cs_open failed\n");
 		return -1;
 	}
@@ -57,27 +287,25 @@ static int capstone_init(struct machine *machine, csh *cs_handle, bool is64,
 		 * is set via annotation args
 		 */
 		if (disassembler_style)
-			cs_option(*cs_handle, CS_OPT_SYNTAX, CS_OPT_SYNTAX_ATT);
+			perf_cs_option(*cs_handle, CS_OPT_SYNTAX, CS_OPT_SYNTAX_ATT);
 		/*
 		 * Resolving address operands to symbols is implemented
 		 * on x86 by investigating instruction details.
 		 */
-		cs_option(*cs_handle, CS_OPT_DETAIL, CS_OPT_ON);
+		perf_cs_option(*cs_handle, CS_OPT_DETAIL, CS_OPT_ON);
 	}
 
 	return 0;
 }
-#endif
 
-#ifdef HAVE_LIBCAPSTONE_SUPPORT
-static size_t print_insn_x86(struct thread *thread, u8 cpumode, cs_insn *insn,
+static size_t print_insn_x86(struct thread *thread, u8 cpumode, struct cs_insn *insn,
 			     int print_opts, FILE *fp)
 {
 	struct addr_location al;
 	size_t printed = 0;
 
 	if (insn->detail && insn->detail->x86.op_count == 1) {
-		cs_x86_op *op = &insn->detail->x86.operands[0];
+		struct cs_x86_op *op = &insn->detail->x86.operands[0];
 
 		addr_location__init(&al);
 		if (op->type == X86_OP_IMM &&
@@ -95,7 +323,6 @@ static size_t print_insn_x86(struct thread *thread, u8 cpumode, cs_insn *insn,
 	printed += fprintf(fp, "%s %s", insn[0].mnemonic, insn[0].op_str);
 	return printed;
 }
-#endif
 
 
 ssize_t capstone__fprintf_insn_asm(struct machine *machine __maybe_unused,
@@ -106,9 +333,8 @@ ssize_t capstone__fprintf_insn_asm(struct machine *machine __maybe_unused,
 				   uint64_t ip __maybe_unused, int *lenp __maybe_unused,
 				   int print_opts __maybe_unused, FILE *fp __maybe_unused)
 {
-#ifdef HAVE_LIBCAPSTONE_SUPPORT
 	size_t printed;
-	cs_insn *insn;
+	struct cs_insn *insn;
 	csh cs_handle;
 	size_t count;
 	int ret;
@@ -118,7 +344,7 @@ ssize_t capstone__fprintf_insn_asm(struct machine *machine __maybe_unused,
 	if (ret < 0)
 		return ret;
 
-	count = cs_disasm(cs_handle, code, code_size, ip, 1, &insn);
+	count = perf_cs_disasm(cs_handle, code, code_size, ip, 1, &insn);
 	if (count > 0) {
 		if (machine__normalized_is(machine, "x86"))
 			printed = print_insn_x86(thread, cpumode, &insn[0], print_opts, fp);
@@ -126,20 +352,16 @@ ssize_t capstone__fprintf_insn_asm(struct machine *machine __maybe_unused,
 			printed = fprintf(fp, "%s %s", insn[0].mnemonic, insn[0].op_str);
 		if (lenp)
 			*lenp = insn->size;
-		cs_free(insn, count);
+		perf_cs_free(insn, count);
 	} else {
 		printed = -1;
 	}
 
-	cs_close(&cs_handle);
+	perf_cs_close(&cs_handle);
 	return printed;
-#else
-	return -1;
-#endif
 }
 
-#ifdef HAVE_LIBCAPSTONE_SUPPORT
-static void print_capstone_detail(cs_insn *insn, char *buf, size_t len,
+static void print_capstone_detail(struct cs_insn *insn, char *buf, size_t len,
 				  struct annotate_args *args, u64 addr)
 {
 	int i;
@@ -154,7 +376,7 @@ static void print_capstone_detail(cs_insn *insn, char *buf, size_t len,
 		return;
 
 	for (i = 0; i < insn->detail->x86.op_count; i++) {
-		cs_x86_op *op = &insn->detail->x86.operands[i];
+		struct cs_x86_op *op = &insn->detail->x86.operands[i];
 		u64 orig_addr;
 
 		if (op->type != X86_OP_MEM)
@@ -195,9 +417,7 @@ static void print_capstone_detail(cs_insn *insn, char *buf, size_t len,
 		break;
 	}
 }
-#endif
 
-#ifdef HAVE_LIBCAPSTONE_SUPPORT
 struct find_file_offset_data {
 	u64 ip;
 	u64 offset;
@@ -214,13 +434,11 @@ static int find_file_offset(u64 start, u64 len, u64 pgoff, void *arg)
 	}
 	return 0;
 }
-#endif
 
 int symbol__disassemble_capstone(const char *filename __maybe_unused,
 				 struct symbol *sym __maybe_unused,
 				 struct annotate_args *args __maybe_unused)
 {
-#ifdef HAVE_LIBCAPSTONE_SUPPORT
 	struct annotation *notes = symbol__annotation(sym);
 	struct map *map = args->ms.map;
 	struct dso *dso = map__dso(map);
@@ -235,7 +453,7 @@ int symbol__disassemble_capstone(const char *filename __maybe_unused,
 	const u8 *buf;
 	u64 buf_len;
 	csh handle;
-	cs_insn *insn = NULL;
+	struct cs_insn *insn = NULL;
 	char disasm_buf[512];
 	struct disasm_line *dl;
 	bool disassembler_style = false;
@@ -273,7 +491,7 @@ int symbol__disassemble_capstone(const char *filename __maybe_unused,
 
 	needs_cs_close = true;
 
-	free_count = count = cs_disasm(handle, buf, buf_len, start, buf_len, &insn);
+	free_count = count = perf_cs_disasm(handle, buf, buf_len, start, buf_len, &insn);
 	for (i = 0, offset = 0; i < count; i++) {
 		int printed;
 
@@ -312,9 +530,9 @@ int symbol__disassemble_capstone(const char *filename __maybe_unused,
 
 out:
 	if (needs_cs_close) {
-		cs_close(&handle);
+		perf_cs_close(&handle);
 		if (free_count > 0)
-			cs_free(insn, free_count);
+			perf_cs_free(insn, free_count);
 	}
 	free(code_buf);
 	return count < 0 ? count : 0;
@@ -334,16 +552,12 @@ int symbol__disassemble_capstone(const char *filename __maybe_unused,
 	}
 	count = -1;
 	goto out;
-#else
-	return -1;
-#endif
 }
 
 int symbol__disassemble_capstone_powerpc(const char *filename __maybe_unused,
 					 struct symbol *sym __maybe_unused,
 					 struct annotate_args *args __maybe_unused)
 {
-#ifdef HAVE_LIBCAPSTONE_SUPPORT
 	struct annotation *notes = symbol__annotation(sym);
 	struct map *map = args->ms.map;
 	struct dso *dso = map__dso(map);
@@ -456,7 +670,7 @@ int symbol__disassemble_capstone_powerpc(const char *filename __maybe_unused,
 
 out:
 	if (needs_cs_close)
-		cs_close(&handle);
+		perf_cs_close(&handle);
 	free(buf);
 	return count < 0 ? count : 0;
 
@@ -465,7 +679,4 @@ int symbol__disassemble_capstone_powerpc(const char *filename __maybe_unused,
 		close(fd);
 	count = -1;
 	goto out;
-#else
-	return -1;
-#endif
 }
-- 
2.51.0.618.g983fd99d29-goog

[PATCH v8 2/3] perf llvm: Support for dlopen-ing libLLVM.so

[Ian Rogers]

If perf wasn't built against libLLVM, no HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT, support
dlopen-ing libLLVM.so and then calling the necessary functions by
looking them up using dlsym.

As the C++ code in llvm-c-helpers used for addr2line is problematic to
call using dlsym by default don't support its use if
HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT isn't present. Add a new build option
LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC=1 that builds a separate shared object called
libperf-llvm.so containing the LLVM addr2line functionality and
support dynamic loading of it.

Signed-off-by: Ian Rogers <irogers@google.com>
---
 tools/perf/Makefile.config         |  13 ++
 tools/perf/Makefile.perf           |  23 ++-
 tools/perf/tests/make              |   2 +
 tools/perf/util/Build              |   2 +-
 tools/perf/util/llvm-c-helpers.cpp | 113 +++++++++++-
 tools/perf/util/llvm.c             | 273 +++++++++++++++++++++++++----
 6 files changed, 388 insertions(+), 38 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tools/perf/Makefile.config b/tools/perf/Makefile.config
index 5700516aa84a..ca8857b00b5c 100644
--- a/tools/perf/Makefile.config
+++ b/tools/perf/Makefile.config
@@ -991,6 +991,19 @@ ifndef NO_LIBLLVM
     NO_LIBLLVM := 1
   endif
 endif
+ifdef LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC
+  ifndef NO_LIBLLVM
+    $(error LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC should be used with NO_LIBLLVM)
+  endif
+  $(call feature_check,llvm-perf)
+  ifneq ($(feature-llvm-perf), 1)
+    $(warning LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC requires libLLVM.so which wasn't feature detected)
+  endif
+  CFLAGS += -DHAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC
+  CFLAGS += $(shell $(LLVM_CONFIG) --cflags)
+  CXXFLAGS += -DHAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC
+  CXXFLAGS += $(shell $(LLVM_CONFIG) --cxxflags)
+endif
 
 ifndef NO_DEMANGLE
   $(call feature_check,cxa-demangle)
diff --git a/tools/perf/Makefile.perf b/tools/perf/Makefile.perf
index 47c906b807ef..4f0c14c19c99 100644
--- a/tools/perf/Makefile.perf
+++ b/tools/perf/Makefile.perf
@@ -423,6 +423,12 @@ ifndef NO_JVMTI
 PROGRAMS += $(OUTPUT)$(LIBJVMTI)
 endif
 
+LIBPERF_LLVM = libperf-llvm.so
+
+ifdef LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC
+PROGRAMS += $(OUTPUT)$(LIBPERF_LLVM)
+endif
+
 DLFILTERS := dlfilter-test-api-v0.so dlfilter-test-api-v2.so dlfilter-show-cycles.so
 DLFILTERS := $(patsubst %,$(OUTPUT)dlfilters/%,$(DLFILTERS))
 
@@ -995,6 +1001,16 @@ $(LIBSYMBOL)-clean:
 	$(call QUIET_CLEAN, libsymbol)
 	$(Q)$(RM) -r -- $(LIBSYMBOL_OUTPUT)
 
+ifdef LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC
+LIBPERF_LLVM_CXXFLAGS := $(call filter-out,-DHAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC,$(CXXFLAGS)) -DHAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT
+LIBPERF_LLVM_LIBS = -L$(shell $(LLVM_CONFIG) --libdir) $(LIBLLVM) -lstdc++
+
+$(OUTPUT)$(LIBPERF_LLVM): util/llvm-c-helpers.cpp
+	$(QUIET_LINK)$(CXX) $(LIBPERF_LLVM_CXXFLAGS) $(LIBPERF_LLVM_LIBS) -shared -o $@ $<
+
+$(OUTPUT)perf: $(OUTPUT)$(LIBPERF_LLVM)
+endif
+
 help:
 	@echo 'Perf make targets:'
 	@echo '  doc		- make *all* documentation (see below)'
@@ -1096,6 +1112,11 @@ ifndef NO_JVMTI
 	$(call QUIET_INSTALL, $(LIBJVMTI)) \
 		$(INSTALL) -d -m 755 '$(DESTDIR_SQ)$(libdir_SQ)'; \
 		$(INSTALL) $(OUTPUT)$(LIBJVMTI) '$(DESTDIR_SQ)$(libdir_SQ)';
+endif
+ifdef LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC
+	$(call QUIET_INSTALL, $(LIBPERF_LLVM)) \
+		$(INSTALL) -d -m 755 '$(DESTDIR_SQ)$(libdir_SQ)'; \
+		$(INSTALL) $(OUTPUT)$(LIBPERF_LLVM) '$(DESTDIR_SQ)$(libdir_SQ)';
 endif
 	$(call QUIET_INSTALL, libexec) \
 		$(INSTALL) -d -m 755 '$(DESTDIR_SQ)$(perfexec_instdir_SQ)'
@@ -1281,7 +1302,7 @@ clean:: $(LIBAPI)-clean $(LIBBPF)-clean $(LIBSUBCMD)-clean $(LIBSYMBOL)-clean $(
 		-name '\.*.cmd' -delete -o -name '\.*.d' -delete -o -name '*.shellcheck_log' -delete
 	$(Q)$(RM) $(OUTPUT).config-detected
 	$(call QUIET_CLEAN, core-progs) $(RM) $(ALL_PROGRAMS) perf perf-read-vdso32 \
-		perf-read-vdsox32 $(OUTPUT)$(LIBJVMTI).so
+		perf-read-vdsox32 $(OUTPUT)$(LIBJVMTI) $(OUTPUT)$(LIBPERF_LLVM)
 	$(call QUIET_CLEAN, core-gen)   $(RM)  *.spec *.pyc *.pyo */*.pyc */*.pyo \
 		$(OUTPUT)common-cmds.h TAGS tags cscope* $(OUTPUT)PERF-VERSION-FILE \
 		$(OUTPUT)FEATURE-DUMP $(OUTPUT)util/*-bison* $(OUTPUT)util/*-flex* \
diff --git a/tools/perf/tests/make b/tools/perf/tests/make
index b650ce8864ed..691c7a7fc463 100644
--- a/tools/perf/tests/make
+++ b/tools/perf/tests/make
@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@ make_no_libbpf	    := NO_LIBBPF=1
 make_libbpf_dynamic := LIBBPF_DYNAMIC=1
 make_no_libbpf_DEBUG := NO_LIBBPF=1 DEBUG=1
 make_no_libllvm     := NO_LIBLLVM=1
+make_libllvm_dynamic := NO_LIBLLVM=1 LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC=1
 make_with_babeltrace:= LIBBABELTRACE=1
 make_with_coresight := CORESIGHT=1
 make_no_sdt	    := NO_SDT=1
@@ -162,6 +163,7 @@ run += make_no_auxtrace
 run += make_no_libbpf
 run += make_no_libbpf_DEBUG
 run += make_no_libllvm
+run += make_libllvm_dynamic
 run += make_no_sdt
 run += make_no_syscall_tbl
 run += make_with_babeltrace
diff --git a/tools/perf/util/Build b/tools/perf/util/Build
index 4be313cd115a..8cc9b08790a3 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/Build
+++ b/tools/perf/util/Build
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ perf-util-y += find_bit.o
 perf-util-y += levenshtein.o
 perf-util-$(CONFIG_LIBBFD) += libbfd.o
 perf-util-y += llvm.o
+perf-util-y += llvm-c-helpers.o
 perf-util-y += mmap.o
 perf-util-y += memswap.o
 perf-util-y += parse-events.o
@@ -249,7 +250,6 @@ perf-util-$(CONFIG_CXX_DEMANGLE) += demangle-cxx.o
 perf-util-y += demangle-ocaml.o
 perf-util-y += demangle-java.o
 perf-util-y += demangle-rust-v0.o
-perf-util-$(CONFIG_LIBLLVM) += llvm-c-helpers.o
 
 CFLAGS_demangle-rust-v0.o += -Wno-shadow -Wno-declaration-after-statement \
     -Wno-switch-default -Wno-switch-enum -Wno-missing-field-initializers
diff --git a/tools/perf/util/llvm-c-helpers.cpp b/tools/perf/util/llvm-c-helpers.cpp
index 004081bd12c9..5a6f76e6b705 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/llvm-c-helpers.cpp
+++ b/tools/perf/util/llvm-c-helpers.cpp
@@ -5,17 +5,23 @@
  * macros (e.g. noinline) that conflict with compiler builtins used
  * by LLVM.
  */
+#ifdef HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT
 #pragma GCC diagnostic push
 #pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wunused-parameter"  /* Needed for LLVM <= 15 */
 #include <llvm/DebugInfo/Symbolize/Symbolize.h>
 #include <llvm/Support/TargetSelect.h>
 #pragma GCC diagnostic pop
+#endif
 
+#if !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) || defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
+#include <dlfcn.h>
+#endif
 #include <inttypes.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <sys/types.h>
 #include <linux/compiler.h>
 extern "C" {
+#include "debug.h"
 #include <linux/zalloc.h>
 }
 #include "llvm-c-helpers.h"
@@ -23,14 +29,33 @@ extern "C" {
 extern "C"
 char *dso__demangle_sym(struct dso *dso, int kmodule, const char *elf_name);
 
+#ifdef HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT
 using namespace llvm;
 using llvm::symbolize::LLVMSymbolizer;
+#endif
+
+#if !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) && defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
+static void *perf_llvm_c_helpers_dll_handle(void)
+{
+	static bool dll_handle_init;
+	static void *dll_handle;
+
+	if (!dll_handle_init) {
+		dll_handle_init = true;
+		dll_handle = dlopen("libperf-llvm.so", RTLD_LAZY);
+		if (!dll_handle)
+			pr_debug("dlopen failed for libperf-llvm.so\n");
+	}
+	return dll_handle;
+}
+#endif
 
 /*
  * Allocate a static LLVMSymbolizer, which will live to the end of the program.
  * Unlike the bfd paths, LLVMSymbolizer has its own cache, so we do not need
  * to store anything in the dso struct.
  */
+#if defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) && !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
 static LLVMSymbolizer *get_symbolizer()
 {
 	static LLVMSymbolizer *instance = nullptr;
@@ -49,8 +74,10 @@ static LLVMSymbolizer *get_symbolizer()
 	}
 	return instance;
 }
+#endif
 
 /* Returns 0 on error, 1 on success. */
+#if defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) && !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
 static int extract_file_and_line(const DILineInfo &line_info, char **file,
 				 unsigned int *line)
 {
@@ -69,13 +96,15 @@ static int extract_file_and_line(const DILineInfo &line_info, char **file,
 		*line = line_info.Line;
 	return 1;
 }
+#endif
 
 extern "C"
-int llvm_addr2line(const char *dso_name, u64 addr,
-		   char **file, unsigned int *line,
-		   bool unwind_inlines,
-		   llvm_a2l_frame **inline_frames)
+int llvm_addr2line(const char *dso_name __maybe_unused, u64 addr __maybe_unused,
+		   char **file __maybe_unused, unsigned int *line __maybe_unused,
+		   bool unwind_inlines __maybe_unused,
+		   llvm_a2l_frame **inline_frames __maybe_unused)
 {
+#if defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) && !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
 	LLVMSymbolizer *symbolizer = get_symbolizer();
 	object::SectionedAddress sectioned_addr = {
 		addr,
@@ -135,8 +164,33 @@ int llvm_addr2line(const char *dso_name, u64 addr,
 			return 0;
 		return extract_file_and_line(*res_or_err, file, line);
 	}
+#elif defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
+	static bool fn_init;
+	static int (*fn)(const char *dso_name, u64 addr,
+			 char **file, unsigned int *line,
+			 bool unwind_inlines,
+			 llvm_a2l_frame **inline_frames);
+
+	if (!fn_init) {
+		void * handle = perf_llvm_c_helpers_dll_handle();
+
+		if (!handle)
+			return 0;
+
+		fn = reinterpret_cast<decltype(fn)>(dlsym(handle, "llvm_addr2line"));
+		if (!fn)
+			pr_debug("dlsym failed for llvm_addr2line\n");
+		fn_init = true;
+	}
+	if (!fn)
+		return 0;
+	return fn(dso_name, addr, file, line, unwind_inlines, inline_frames);
+#else
+	return 0;
+#endif
 }
 
+#if defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) && !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
 static char *
 make_symbol_relative_string(struct dso *dso, const char *sym_name,
 			    u64 addr, u64 base_addr)
@@ -158,10 +212,13 @@ make_symbol_relative_string(struct dso *dso, const char *sym_name,
 			return strdup(sym_name);
 	}
 }
+#endif
 
 extern "C"
-char *llvm_name_for_code(struct dso *dso, const char *dso_name, u64 addr)
+char *llvm_name_for_code(struct dso *dso __maybe_unused, const char *dso_name __maybe_unused,
+			 u64 addr __maybe_unused)
 {
+#if defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) && !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
 	LLVMSymbolizer *symbolizer = get_symbolizer();
 	object::SectionedAddress sectioned_addr = {
 		addr,
@@ -175,11 +232,34 @@ char *llvm_name_for_code(struct dso *dso, const char *dso_name, u64 addr)
 	return make_symbol_relative_string(
 		dso, res_or_err->FunctionName.c_str(),
 		addr, res_or_err->StartAddress ? *res_or_err->StartAddress : 0);
+#elif defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
+	static bool fn_init;
+	static char *(*fn)(struct dso *dso, const char *dso_name, u64 addr);
+
+	if (!fn_init) {
+		void * handle = perf_llvm_c_helpers_dll_handle();
+
+		if (!handle)
+			return NULL;
+
+		fn = reinterpret_cast<decltype(fn)>(dlsym(handle, "llvm_name_for_code"));
+		if (!fn)
+			pr_debug("dlsym failed for llvm_name_for_code\n");
+		fn_init = true;
+	}
+	if (!fn)
+		return NULL;
+	return fn(dso, dso_name, addr);
+#else
+	return 0;
+#endif
 }
 
 extern "C"
-char *llvm_name_for_data(struct dso *dso, const char *dso_name, u64 addr)
+char *llvm_name_for_data(struct dso *dso __maybe_unused, const char *dso_name __maybe_unused,
+			 u64 addr __maybe_unused)
 {
+#if defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) && !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
 	LLVMSymbolizer *symbolizer = get_symbolizer();
 	object::SectionedAddress sectioned_addr = {
 		addr,
@@ -193,4 +273,25 @@ char *llvm_name_for_data(struct dso *dso, const char *dso_name, u64 addr)
 	return make_symbol_relative_string(
 		dso, res_or_err->Name.c_str(),
 		addr, res_or_err->Start);
+#elif defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
+	static bool fn_init;
+	static char *(*fn)(struct dso *dso, const char *dso_name, u64 addr);
+
+	if (!fn_init) {
+		void * handle = perf_llvm_c_helpers_dll_handle();
+
+		if (!handle)
+			return NULL;
+
+		fn = reinterpret_cast<decltype(fn)>(dlsym(handle, "llvm_name_for_data"));
+		if (!fn)
+			pr_debug("dlsym failed for llvm_name_for_data\n");
+		fn_init = true;
+	}
+	if (!fn)
+		return NULL;
+	return fn(dso, dso_name, addr);
+#else
+	return 0;
+#endif
 }
diff --git a/tools/perf/util/llvm.c b/tools/perf/util/llvm.c
index 2ebf1f5f65bf..10def66ce8b2 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/llvm.c
+++ b/tools/perf/util/llvm.c
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
 #include "llvm.h"
+#include "llvm-c-helpers.h"
 #include "annotate.h"
 #include "debug.h"
 #include "dso.h"
@@ -7,18 +8,244 @@
 #include "namespaces.h"
 #include "srcline.h"
 #include "symbol.h"
+#include <dlfcn.h>
 #include <errno.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
+#include <inttypes.h>
 #include <unistd.h>
 #include <linux/zalloc.h>
 
-#ifdef HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT
-#include "llvm-c-helpers.h"
+#if defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) && !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
 #include <llvm-c/Disassembler.h>
 #include <llvm-c/Target.h>
+#else
+typedef void *LLVMDisasmContextRef;
+typedef int (*LLVMOpInfoCallback)(void *dis_info, uint64_t pc, uint64_t offset,
+				  uint64_t op_size, uint64_t inst_size,
+				  int tag_type, void *tag_buf);
+typedef const char *(*LLVMSymbolLookupCallback)(void *dis_info,
+						uint64_t reference_value,
+						uint64_t *reference_type,
+						uint64_t reference_pc,
+						const char **reference_name);
+#define LLVMDisassembler_ReferenceType_InOut_None 0
+#define LLVMDisassembler_ReferenceType_In_Branch 1
+#define LLVMDisassembler_ReferenceType_In_PCrel_Load 2
+#define LLVMDisassembler_Option_PrintImmHex 2
+#define LLVMDisassembler_Option_AsmPrinterVariant 4
+const char *llvm_targets[] = {
+	"AMDGPU",
+	"ARM",
+	"AVR",
+	"BPF",
+	"Hexagon",
+	"Lanai",
+	"LoongArch",
+	"Mips",
+	"MSP430",
+	"NVPTX",
+	"PowerPC",
+	"RISCV",
+	"Sparc",
+	"SystemZ",
+	"VE",
+	"WebAssembly",
+	"X86",
+	"XCore",
+	"M68k",
+	"Xtensa",
+};
+#endif
+
+#if !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) || defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
+static void *perf_llvm_dll_handle(void)
+{
+	static bool dll_handle_init;
+	static void *dll_handle;
+
+	if (!dll_handle_init) {
+		dll_handle_init = true;
+		dll_handle = dlopen("libLLVM.so", RTLD_LAZY);
+		if (!dll_handle)
+			pr_debug("dlopen failed for libLLVM.so\n");
+	}
+	return dll_handle;
+}
+#endif
+
+#if !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) || defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
+static void *perf_llvm_dll_fun(const char *fmt, const char *target)
+{
+	char buf[128];
+	void *fn;
+
+	snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), fmt, target);
+	fn = dlsym(perf_llvm_dll_handle(), buf);
+	if (!fn)
+		pr_debug("dlsym failed for %s\n", buf);
+
+	return fn;
+}
+#endif
+
+static void perf_LLVMInitializeAllTargetInfos(void)
+{
+#if defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) && !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
+	LLVMInitializeAllTargetInfos();
+#else
+	/* LLVMInitializeAllTargetInfos is a header file function not available as a symbol. */
+	static bool done_init;
+
+	if (done_init)
+		return;
+
+	for (size_t i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(llvm_targets); i++) {
+		void (*fn)(void) = perf_llvm_dll_fun("LLVMInitialize%sTargetInfo",
+						     llvm_targets[i]);
+
+		if (!fn)
+			continue;
+		fn();
+	}
+	done_init = true;
+#endif
+}
+
+static void perf_LLVMInitializeAllTargetMCs(void)
+{
+#if defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) && !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
+	LLVMInitializeAllTargetMCs();
+#else
+	/* LLVMInitializeAllTargetMCs is a header file function not available as a symbol. */
+	static bool done_init;
+
+	if (done_init)
+		return;
+
+	for (size_t i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(llvm_targets); i++) {
+		void (*fn)(void) = perf_llvm_dll_fun("LLVMInitialize%sTargetMC",
+						     llvm_targets[i]);
+
+		if (!fn)
+			continue;
+		fn();
+	}
+	done_init = true;
+#endif
+}
+
+static void perf_LLVMInitializeAllDisassemblers(void)
+{
+#if defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) && !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
+	LLVMInitializeAllDisassemblers();
+#else
+	/* LLVMInitializeAllDisassemblers is a header file function not available as a symbol. */
+	static bool done_init;
+
+	if (done_init)
+		return;
+
+	for (size_t i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(llvm_targets); i++) {
+		void (*fn)(void) = perf_llvm_dll_fun("LLVMInitialize%sDisassembler",
+						     llvm_targets[i]);
+
+		if (!fn)
+			continue;
+		fn();
+	}
+	done_init = true;
+#endif
+}
+
+static LLVMDisasmContextRef perf_LLVMCreateDisasm(const char *triple_name, void *dis_info,
+						int tag_type, LLVMOpInfoCallback get_op_info,
+						LLVMSymbolLookupCallback symbol_lookup)
+{
+#if defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) && !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
+	return LLVMCreateDisasm(triple_name, dis_info, tag_type, get_op_info, symbol_lookup);
+#else
+	static bool fn_init;
+	static LLVMDisasmContextRef (*fn)(const char *triple_name, void *dis_info,
+					int tag_type, LLVMOpInfoCallback get_op_info,
+					LLVMSymbolLookupCallback symbol_lookup);
+
+	if (!fn_init) {
+		fn = dlsym(perf_llvm_dll_handle(), "LLVMCreateDisasm");
+		if (!fn)
+			pr_debug("dlsym failed for LLVMCreateDisasm\n");
+		fn_init = true;
+	}
+	if (!fn)
+		return NULL;
+	return fn(triple_name, dis_info, tag_type, get_op_info, symbol_lookup);
+#endif
+}
+
+static int perf_LLVMSetDisasmOptions(LLVMDisasmContextRef context, uint64_t options)
+{
+#if defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) && !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
+	return LLVMSetDisasmOptions(context, options);
+#else
+	static bool fn_init;
+	static int (*fn)(LLVMDisasmContextRef context, uint64_t options);
+
+	if (!fn_init) {
+		fn = dlsym(perf_llvm_dll_handle(), "LLVMSetDisasmOptions");
+		if (!fn)
+			pr_debug("dlsym failed for LLVMSetDisasmOptions\n");
+		fn_init = true;
+	}
+	if (!fn)
+		return 0;
+	return fn(context, options);
+#endif
+}
+
+static size_t perf_LLVMDisasmInstruction(LLVMDisasmContextRef context, uint8_t *bytes,
+					uint64_t bytes_size, uint64_t pc,
+					char *out_string, size_t out_string_size)
+{
+#if defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) && !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
+	return LLVMDisasmInstruction(context, bytes, bytes_size, pc, out_string, out_string_size);
+#else
+	static bool fn_init;
+	static int (*fn)(LLVMDisasmContextRef context, uint8_t *bytes,
+			uint64_t bytes_size, uint64_t pc,
+			char *out_string, size_t out_string_size);
+
+	if (!fn_init) {
+		fn = dlsym(perf_llvm_dll_handle(), "LLVMDisasmInstruction");
+		if (!fn)
+			pr_debug("dlsym failed for LLVMDisasmInstruction\n");
+		fn_init = true;
+	}
+	if (!fn)
+		return 0;
+	return fn(context, bytes, bytes_size, pc, out_string, out_string_size);
+#endif
+}
+
+static void perf_LLVMDisasmDispose(LLVMDisasmContextRef context)
+{
+#if defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) && !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
+	LLVMDisasmDispose(context);
+#else
+	static bool fn_init;
+	static int (*fn)(LLVMDisasmContextRef context);
+
+	if (!fn_init) {
+		fn = dlsym(perf_llvm_dll_handle(), "LLVMDisasmDispose");
+		if (!fn)
+			pr_debug("dlsym failed for LLVMDisasmDispose\n");
+		fn_init = true;
+	}
+	if (!fn)
+		return;
+	fn(context);
 #endif
+}
+
 
-#ifdef HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT
 static void free_llvm_inline_frames(struct llvm_a2l_frame *inline_frames,
 				    int num_frames)
 {
@@ -30,14 +257,12 @@ static void free_llvm_inline_frames(struct llvm_a2l_frame *inline_frames,
 		zfree(&inline_frames);
 	}
 }
-#endif
 
 int llvm__addr2line(const char *dso_name __maybe_unused, u64 addr __maybe_unused,
 		     char **file __maybe_unused, unsigned int *line __maybe_unused,
 		     struct dso *dso __maybe_unused, bool unwind_inlines __maybe_unused,
 		     struct inline_node *node __maybe_unused, struct symbol *sym __maybe_unused)
 {
-#ifdef HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT
 	struct llvm_a2l_frame *inline_frames = NULL;
 	int num_frames = llvm_addr2line(dso_name, addr, file, line,
 					node && unwind_inlines, &inline_frames);
@@ -65,20 +290,16 @@ int llvm__addr2line(const char *dso_name __maybe_unused, u64 addr __maybe_unused
 	free_llvm_inline_frames(inline_frames, num_frames);
 
 	return num_frames;
-#else
-	return -1;
-#endif
 }
 
-#ifdef HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT
 static void init_llvm(void)
 {
 	static bool init;
 
 	if (!init) {
-		LLVMInitializeAllTargetInfos();
-		LLVMInitializeAllTargetMCs();
-		LLVMInitializeAllDisassemblers();
+		perf_LLVMInitializeAllTargetInfos();
+		perf_LLVMInitializeAllTargetMCs();
+		perf_LLVMInitializeAllDisassemblers();
 		init = true;
 	}
 }
@@ -111,12 +332,10 @@ symbol_lookup_callback(void *disinfo, uint64_t value,
 	*ref_type = LLVMDisassembler_ReferenceType_InOut_None;
 	return NULL;
 }
-#endif
 
 int symbol__disassemble_llvm(const char *filename, struct symbol *sym,
 			     struct annotate_args *args __maybe_unused)
 {
-#ifdef HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT
 	struct annotation *notes = symbol__annotation(sym);
 	struct map *map = args->ms.map;
 	struct dso *dso = map__dso(map);
@@ -149,15 +368,15 @@ int symbol__disassemble_llvm(const char *filename, struct symbol *sym,
 	if (arch__is(args->arch, "x86")) {
 		const char *triplet = is_64bit ? "x86_64-pc-linux" : "i686-pc-linux";
 
-		disasm = LLVMCreateDisasm(triplet, &storage, /*tag_type=*/0,
-					  /*get_op_info=*/NULL, symbol_lookup_callback);
+		disasm = perf_LLVMCreateDisasm(triplet, &storage, /*tag_type=*/0,
+					       /*get_op_info=*/NULL, symbol_lookup_callback);
 	} else {
 		char triplet[64];
 
 		scnprintf(triplet, sizeof(triplet), "%s-linux-gnu",
 			  args->arch->name);
-		disasm = LLVMCreateDisasm(triplet, &storage, /*tag_type=*/0,
-					  /*get_op_info=*/NULL, symbol_lookup_callback);
+		disasm = perf_LLVMCreateDisasm(triplet, &storage, /*tag_type=*/0,
+					       /*get_op_info=*/NULL, symbol_lookup_callback);
 	}
 
 	if (disasm == NULL)
@@ -165,8 +384,7 @@ int symbol__disassemble_llvm(const char *filename, struct symbol *sym,
 
 	if (args->options->disassembler_style &&
 	    !strcmp(args->options->disassembler_style, "intel"))
-		LLVMSetDisasmOptions(disasm,
-				     LLVMDisassembler_Option_AsmPrinterVariant);
+		perf_LLVMSetDisasmOptions(disasm, LLVMDisassembler_Option_AsmPrinterVariant);
 
 	/*
 	 * This needs to be set after AsmPrinterVariant, due to a bug in LLVM;
@@ -174,7 +392,7 @@ int symbol__disassemble_llvm(const char *filename, struct symbol *sym,
 	 * forget about the PrintImmHex flag (which is applied before if both
 	 * are given to the same call).
 	 */
-	LLVMSetDisasmOptions(disasm, LLVMDisassembler_Option_PrintImmHex);
+	perf_LLVMSetDisasmOptions(disasm, LLVMDisassembler_Option_PrintImmHex);
 
 	/* add the function address and name */
 	scnprintf(disasm_buf, sizeof(disasm_buf), "%#"PRIx64" <%s>:",
@@ -203,9 +421,9 @@ int symbol__disassemble_llvm(const char *filename, struct symbol *sym,
 		 * LLVM's API has the code be disassembled as non-const, cast
 		 * here as we may be disassembling from mapped read-only memory.
 		 */
-		ins_len = LLVMDisasmInstruction(disasm, (u8 *)(buf + offset),
-						buf_len - offset, pc,
-						disasm_buf, sizeof(disasm_buf));
+		ins_len = perf_LLVMDisasmInstruction(disasm, (u8 *)(buf + offset),
+						     buf_len - offset, pc,
+						     disasm_buf, sizeof(disasm_buf));
 		if (ins_len == 0)
 			goto err;
 		disasm_len = strlen(disasm_buf);
@@ -261,13 +479,8 @@ int symbol__disassemble_llvm(const char *filename, struct symbol *sym,
 	ret = 0;
 
 err:
-	LLVMDisasmDispose(disasm);
+	perf_LLVMDisasmDispose(disasm);
 	free(code_buf);
 	free(line_storage);
 	return ret;
-#else // HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT
-	pr_debug("The LLVM disassembler isn't linked in for %s in %s\n",
-		 sym->name, filename);
-	return -1;
-#endif
 }
-- 
2.51.0.618.g983fd99d29-goog

[PATCH v8 3/3] perf llvm: Mangle libperf-llvm.so function names

[Ian Rogers]

For a function like llvm_addr2line having the libperf-llvm.so exported
symbol named llvm_addr2line meant that the perf llvm_addr2line could
sometimes erroneously be returned. This led to infinite recursion and
eventual stack overflow. To avoid this conflict add a new
BUILDING_PERF_LLVMSO when libperf-llvm.so is being built and use it to
alter the behavior of MANGLE_PERF_LLVM_API, a macro that prefixes the
name when libperf-llvm.so is being built. The prefixed named avoids
the name collision.

Signed-off-by: Ian Rogers <irogers@google.com>
---
 tools/perf/Makefile.perf           |  3 ++-
 tools/perf/util/llvm-c-helpers.cpp | 29 ++++++++++++++++++-----------
 tools/perf/util/llvm-c-helpers.h   | 24 ++++++++++++++++--------
 3 files changed, 36 insertions(+), 20 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tools/perf/Makefile.perf b/tools/perf/Makefile.perf
index 4f0c14c19c99..836dd0c25541 100644
--- a/tools/perf/Makefile.perf
+++ b/tools/perf/Makefile.perf
@@ -1002,7 +1002,8 @@ $(LIBSYMBOL)-clean:
 	$(Q)$(RM) -r -- $(LIBSYMBOL_OUTPUT)
 
 ifdef LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC
-LIBPERF_LLVM_CXXFLAGS := $(call filter-out,-DHAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC,$(CXXFLAGS)) -DHAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT
+LIBPERF_LLVM_CXXFLAGS := $(call filter-out,-DHAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC,$(CXXFLAGS))
+LIBPERF_LLVM_CXXFLAGS += -DHAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT -DBUILDING_PERF_LLVMSO
 LIBPERF_LLVM_LIBS = -L$(shell $(LLVM_CONFIG) --libdir) $(LIBLLVM) -lstdc++
 
 $(OUTPUT)$(LIBPERF_LLVM): util/llvm-c-helpers.cpp
diff --git a/tools/perf/util/llvm-c-helpers.cpp b/tools/perf/util/llvm-c-helpers.cpp
index 5a6f76e6b705..8cea380be5c2 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/llvm-c-helpers.cpp
+++ b/tools/perf/util/llvm-c-helpers.cpp
@@ -99,10 +99,12 @@ static int extract_file_and_line(const DILineInfo &line_info, char **file,
 #endif
 
 extern "C"
-int llvm_addr2line(const char *dso_name __maybe_unused, u64 addr __maybe_unused,
-		   char **file __maybe_unused, unsigned int *line __maybe_unused,
-		   bool unwind_inlines __maybe_unused,
-		   llvm_a2l_frame **inline_frames __maybe_unused)
+int MANGLE_PERF_LLVM_API(llvm_addr2line)(const char *dso_name __maybe_unused,
+                                         u64 addr __maybe_unused,
+                                         char **file __maybe_unused,
+                                         unsigned int *line __maybe_unused,
+                                         bool unwind_inlines __maybe_unused,
+                                         llvm_a2l_frame **inline_frames __maybe_unused)
 {
 #if defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) && !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
 	LLVMSymbolizer *symbolizer = get_symbolizer();
@@ -177,7 +179,8 @@ int llvm_addr2line(const char *dso_name __maybe_unused, u64 addr __maybe_unused,
 		if (!handle)
 			return 0;
 
-		fn = reinterpret_cast<decltype(fn)>(dlsym(handle, "llvm_addr2line"));
+		fn = reinterpret_cast<decltype(fn)>(
+			dlsym(handle, MANGLE_PERF_LLVM_API_STR(llvm_addr2line)));
 		if (!fn)
 			pr_debug("dlsym failed for llvm_addr2line\n");
 		fn_init = true;
@@ -215,8 +218,9 @@ make_symbol_relative_string(struct dso *dso, const char *sym_name,
 #endif
 
 extern "C"
-char *llvm_name_for_code(struct dso *dso __maybe_unused, const char *dso_name __maybe_unused,
-			 u64 addr __maybe_unused)
+char *MANGLE_PERF_LLVM_API(llvm_name_for_code)(struct dso *dso __maybe_unused,
+					       const char *dso_name __maybe_unused,
+					       u64 addr __maybe_unused)
 {
 #if defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) && !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
 	LLVMSymbolizer *symbolizer = get_symbolizer();
@@ -242,7 +246,8 @@ char *llvm_name_for_code(struct dso *dso __maybe_unused, const char *dso_name __
 		if (!handle)
 			return NULL;
 
-		fn = reinterpret_cast<decltype(fn)>(dlsym(handle, "llvm_name_for_code"));
+		fn = reinterpret_cast<decltype(fn)>(
+			dlsym(handle, MANGLE_PERF_LLVM_API_STR(llvm_name_for_code)));
 		if (!fn)
 			pr_debug("dlsym failed for llvm_name_for_code\n");
 		fn_init = true;
@@ -256,8 +261,9 @@ char *llvm_name_for_code(struct dso *dso __maybe_unused, const char *dso_name __
 }
 
 extern "C"
-char *llvm_name_for_data(struct dso *dso __maybe_unused, const char *dso_name __maybe_unused,
-			 u64 addr __maybe_unused)
+char *MANGLE_PERF_LLVM_API(llvm_name_for_data)(struct dso *dso __maybe_unused,
+					       const char *dso_name __maybe_unused,
+					       u64 addr __maybe_unused)
 {
 #if defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT) && !defined(HAVE_LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC)
 	LLVMSymbolizer *symbolizer = get_symbolizer();
@@ -283,7 +289,8 @@ char *llvm_name_for_data(struct dso *dso __maybe_unused, const char *dso_name __
 		if (!handle)
 			return NULL;
 
-		fn = reinterpret_cast<decltype(fn)>(dlsym(handle, "llvm_name_for_data"));
+		fn = reinterpret_cast<decltype(fn)>(
+			dlsym(handle, MANGLE_PERF_LLVM_API_STR(llvm_name_for_data)));
 		if (!fn)
 			pr_debug("dlsym failed for llvm_name_for_data\n");
 		fn_init = true;
diff --git a/tools/perf/util/llvm-c-helpers.h b/tools/perf/util/llvm-c-helpers.h
index d2b99637a28a..cfcfd540cdae 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/llvm-c-helpers.h
+++ b/tools/perf/util/llvm-c-helpers.h
@@ -13,6 +13,14 @@
 extern "C" {
 #endif
 
+/* Support name mangling so that libperf_llvm.so's names don't match those in perf. */
+#ifdef BUILDING_PERF_LLVMSO
+#define MANGLE_PERF_LLVM_API(x) PERF_LLVM_SO_ ## x
+#else
+#define MANGLE_PERF_LLVM_API(x) x
+#endif
+#define MANGLE_PERF_LLVM_API_STR(x) "PERF_LLVM_SO_" #x
+
 struct dso;
 
 struct llvm_a2l_frame {
@@ -37,12 +45,12 @@ struct llvm_a2l_frame {
  * a newly allocated array with that length. The caller is then responsible
  * for freeing both the strings and the array itself.
  */
-int llvm_addr2line(const char* dso_name,
-                   u64 addr,
-                   char** file,
-                   unsigned int* line,
-                   bool unwind_inlines,
-                   struct llvm_a2l_frame** inline_frames);
+int MANGLE_PERF_LLVM_API(llvm_addr2line)(const char *dso_name,
+					 u64 addr,
+					 char **file,
+					 unsigned int *line,
+					 bool unwind_inlines,
+					 struct llvm_a2l_frame **inline_frames);
 
 /*
  * Simple symbolizers for addresses; will convert something like
@@ -50,8 +58,8 @@ int llvm_addr2line(const char* dso_name,
  *
  * The returned value must be freed by the caller, with free().
  */
-char *llvm_name_for_code(struct dso *dso, const char *dso_name, u64 addr);
-char *llvm_name_for_data(struct dso *dso, const char *dso_name, u64 addr);
+char *MANGLE_PERF_LLVM_API(llvm_name_for_code)(struct dso *dso, const char *dso_name, u64 addr);
+char *MANGLE_PERF_LLVM_API(llvm_name_for_data)(struct dso *dso, const char *dso_name, u64 addr);
 
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
-- 
2.51.0.618.g983fd99d29-goog

Re: [PATCH v8 0/3] Capstone/llvm dlopen support

[Ian Rogers]

On Tue, Oct 7, 2025 at 9:38 AM Ian Rogers <irogers@google.com> wrote:
>
> Linking against libcapstone and libLLVM can be a significant increase
> in dependencies and file size if building statically. The dependencies
> are also quite cumbersome if bringing perf into a distribution. For
> something like `perf record` the disassembler and addr2line
> functionality of libcapstone and libLLVM won't be used. These patches
> support dynamically loading these libraries using dlopen and then
> calling the appropriate functions found using dlsym. Using dlopen
> allows libcapstone and libLLVM to be installed separately to perf and
> when that's done the performance will improve as separate commands for
> objdump and addr2line won't be invoked.
>
> The patch series adds perf_ variants of the capstone/llvm functions
> that will either directly call the function or (NO_CAPSTONE=1 and
> NO_LIBLLVM=1 cases) use dlopen/dlsym to discover and then call the
> function. To support the function signatures when
> HAVE_LIBCAPSTONE_SUPPORT and HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT aren't defined
> prototypes generated using pahole are given. This avoids requiring
> libcapstone or libLLVM for the sake of the header files. It also
> avoids having a build where neither dlopen or dynamic linking against
> libcapstone or libLLVM is supported. There are other possibilities in
> how to organize this, but the chosen approach was done so for the
> simplicity and cleanliness of the code.
>
> The addr2line LLVM functionality is written in C++. To avoid linking
> against libLLVM for this, a new LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC option is added where
> the C++ code with the libLLVM dependency will be built into a
> libperf-llvm.so and that dlsym-ed and called against. Ideally LLVM
> would extend their C API to avoid this.
>
> v8: Rebase down to 3 patches. Update commit and cover messages.
> v7: Refactor now the first 5 patches, that largely moved code around,
>     have landed. Move the dlopen code to the end of the series so that
>     the first 8 patches can be picked improving capstone/LLVM support
>     without adding the dlopen code. Rename the cover letter and
>     disassembler cleanup patches.
> v6: Refactor the libbfd along with capstone and LLVM, previous patch
>     series had tried to avoid this by just removing the deprecated
>     BUILD_NONDISTRO code. Remove the libtracefs removal into its own
>     patch.
> v5: Rebase and comment typo fix.
> v4: Rebase and addition of a patch removing an unused struct variable.
> v3: Add srcline addr2line fallback trying LLVM first then forking a
>     process. This came up in conversation with Steinar Gunderson
>     <sesse@google.com>.
>     Tweak the cover letter message to try to address Andi Kleen's
>     <ak@linux.intel.com> feedback that the series doesn't really
>     achieve anything.
> v2: Add mangling of the function names in libperf-llvm.so to avoid
>     potential infinite recursion. Add BPF JIT disassembly support to
>     LLVM and capstone. Add/rebase the BUILD_NONDISTRO cleanup onto the
>     series from:
>     https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20250111202851.1075338-1-irogers@google.com/
>     Some other minor additional clean up.
>
> Ian Rogers (3):
>   perf capstone: Support for dlopen-ing libcapstone.so
>   perf llvm: Support for dlopen-ing libLLVM.so
>   perf llvm: Mangle libperf-llvm.so function names

Ping.

Thanks,
Ian

>  tools/perf/Makefile.config         |  13 ++
>  tools/perf/Makefile.perf           |  24 ++-
>  tools/perf/tests/make              |   2 +
>  tools/perf/util/Build              |   2 +-
>  tools/perf/util/capstone.c         | 285 +++++++++++++++++++++++++----
>  tools/perf/util/llvm-c-helpers.cpp | 120 +++++++++++-
>  tools/perf/util/llvm-c-helpers.h   |  24 ++-
>  tools/perf/util/llvm.c             | 273 ++++++++++++++++++++++++---
>  8 files changed, 660 insertions(+), 83 deletions(-)
>
> --
> 2.51.0.618.g983fd99d29-goog
>

Re: [PATCH v8 0/3] Capstone/llvm dlopen support

[Arnaldo Carvalho de Melo]

On Thu, Jan 08, 2026 at 01:32:47PM -0800, Ian Rogers wrote:
> On Tue, Oct 7, 2025 at 9:38 AM Ian Rogers <irogers@google.com> wrote:
> >
> > Linking against libcapstone and libLLVM can be a significant increase
> > in dependencies and file size if building statically. The dependencies
> > are also quite cumbersome if bringing perf into a distribution. For
> > something like `perf record` the disassembler and addr2line
> > functionality of libcapstone and libLLVM won't be used. These patches
> > support dynamically loading these libraries using dlopen and then
> > calling the appropriate functions found using dlsym. Using dlopen
> > allows libcapstone and libLLVM to be installed separately to perf and
> > when that's done the performance will improve as separate commands for
> > objdump and addr2line won't be invoked.
> >
> > The patch series adds perf_ variants of the capstone/llvm functions
> > that will either directly call the function or (NO_CAPSTONE=1 and
> > NO_LIBLLVM=1 cases) use dlopen/dlsym to discover and then call the
> > function. To support the function signatures when
> > HAVE_LIBCAPSTONE_SUPPORT and HAVE_LIBLLVM_SUPPORT aren't defined
> > prototypes generated using pahole are given. This avoids requiring
> > libcapstone or libLLVM for the sake of the header files. It also
> > avoids having a build where neither dlopen or dynamic linking against
> > libcapstone or libLLVM is supported. There are other possibilities in
> > how to organize this, but the chosen approach was done so for the
> > simplicity and cleanliness of the code.
> >
> > The addr2line LLVM functionality is written in C++. To avoid linking
> > against libLLVM for this, a new LIBLLVM_DYNAMIC option is added where
> > the C++ code with the libLLVM dependency will be built into a
> > libperf-llvm.so and that dlsym-ed and called against. Ideally LLVM
> > would extend their C API to avoid this.
> >
> > v8: Rebase down to 3 patches. Update commit and cover messages.
> > v7: Refactor now the first 5 patches, that largely moved code around,
> >     have landed. Move the dlopen code to the end of the series so that
> >     the first 8 patches can be picked improving capstone/LLVM support
> >     without adding the dlopen code. Rename the cover letter and
> >     disassembler cleanup patches.
> > v6: Refactor the libbfd along with capstone and LLVM, previous patch
> >     series had tried to avoid this by just removing the deprecated
> >     BUILD_NONDISTRO code. Remove the libtracefs removal into its own
> >     patch.
> > v5: Rebase and comment typo fix.
> > v4: Rebase and addition of a patch removing an unused struct variable.
> > v3: Add srcline addr2line fallback trying LLVM first then forking a
> >     process. This came up in conversation with Steinar Gunderson
> >     <sesse@google.com>.
> >     Tweak the cover letter message to try to address Andi Kleen's
> >     <ak@linux.intel.com> feedback that the series doesn't really
> >     achieve anything.
> > v2: Add mangling of the function names in libperf-llvm.so to avoid
> >     potential infinite recursion. Add BPF JIT disassembly support to
> >     LLVM and capstone. Add/rebase the BUILD_NONDISTRO cleanup onto the
> >     series from:
> >     https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20250111202851.1075338-1-irogers@google.com/
> >     Some other minor additional clean up.
> >
> > Ian Rogers (3):
> >   perf capstone: Support for dlopen-ing libcapstone.so
> >   perf llvm: Support for dlopen-ing libLLVM.so
> >   perf llvm: Mangle libperf-llvm.so function names
> 
> Ping.

The first two patches apply with a bit of fuzz, the last one fails
harder, can you take a stab at refreshing it so that I can try to test
it?

Thanks,

- Arnaldo