[PATCH 01/12] perf test: Skip data_type_profiling when the PMU cannot record memory events

From: Arnaldo Carvalho de Melo

Date: Wed Sep 16 2026 - 08:12:12 EST


From: Arnaldo Carvalho de Melo <acme@xxxxxxxxxx>

The test records with 'perf mem record' in per-thread mode and its only
guard matches one specific message:

perf mem record -o /dev/null -- true 2>&1 | \
grep -q "failed: no PMU supports the memory events" && exit 2

A PMU that has memory events but refuses them per-thread falls through
it, and AMD IBS does:

$ perf mem record -o /dev/null -- true
Error:
Failure to open event 'ibs_op/ldlat=0/u' on PMU 'ibs_op' which will be removed.
Invalid event (ibs_op/ldlat=0/u) in per-thread mode, enable system wide with '-a'.
Error:
Failure to open any events for recording.

What follows is not a skip either. The script runs under 'set -e', so
the bare 'perf mem record' in test_basic_annotate() aborts it through the
EXIT trap, which reports a signal that never happened and exits 1:

Basic Rust perf annotate test
Unexpected signal in test_basic_annotate

so 'perf test' turns "this PMU cannot record these events" into a test
failure:

$ perf test "data type profiling"
87: perf data type profiling tests : FAILED!

The 'if [ "x$?" != "x0" ]' right below the record was meant to report
"[Failed: perf record]" and carry on with the other cases, but under
'set -e' it is dead code: the shell is gone before it is reached. The
same goes for the 'perf annotate' call below it.

Skip when a trivial per-thread 'perf mem record' fails, and put both
commands in the condition of an 'if', where 'set -e' leaves them alone,
so that the
reporting works for the cases where only one workload cannot be recorded
or annotated:

$ perf test "data type profiling"
87: perf data type profiling tests : Skip

and, with just the new skip guard disabled on the same box, every case
reports its failure instead of the first one aborting the run:

Basic Rust perf annotate test
Basic annotate [Failed: perf record]
Pipe Rust perf annotate test
Pipe annotate [Failed: perf record]
Basic C perf annotate test
Basic annotate [Failed: perf record]
Pipe C perf annotate test
Pipe annotate [Failed: perf record]

Fixes: f60a5c22967b ("perf tests: Test annotate with data type profiling and rust")
Acked-by: Namhyung Kim <namhyung@xxxxxxxxxx>
Assisted-by: LLM
Signed-off-by: Arnaldo Carvalho de Melo <acme@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
tools/perf/tests/shell/data_type_profiling.sh | 46 +++++++++++++++----
1 file changed, 36 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tools/perf/tests/shell/data_type_profiling.sh b/tools/perf/tests/shell/data_type_profiling.sh
index eca694600a0478d2..a916c410274aa888 100755
--- a/tools/perf/tests/shell/data_type_profiling.sh
+++ b/tools/perf/tests/shell/data_type_profiling.sh
@@ -19,6 +19,15 @@ perfout=$(mktemp /tmp/__perf_test.perf.out.XXXXX)
perf mem record -o /dev/null -- true 2>&1 | \
grep -q "failed: no PMU supports the memory events" && exit 2

+# Skip if per-thread mem record is not supported on this PMU (e.g. AMD IBS
+# needs system-wide '-a'): it is what the test records with below, and a
+# failing record must not be reported as a test failure.
+if ! perf mem record -o /dev/null -- true 2>/dev/null
+then
+ echo "Skip: cannot record memory events on this PMU"
+ exit 2
+fi
+
cleanup() {
rm -rf "${perfdata}" "${perfout}"
rm -rf "${perfdata}".old
@@ -52,25 +61,42 @@ test_basic_annotate() {
index=1 ;;
esac

+ # Under 'set -e' a bare failing command aborts the script through the EXIT
+ # trap, so the commands that report a failure have to be the condition of
+ # an 'if' for that reporting to ever happen.
if [ "x${mode}" == "xBasic" ]
then
- perf mem record -o "${perfdata}" ${testprogs[$index]} 2> /dev/null
+ if ! perf mem record -o "${perfdata}" ${testprogs[$index]} 2> /dev/null
+ then
+ echo "${mode} annotate [Failed: perf record]"
+ err=1
+ return
+ fi
else
- perf mem record -o - ${testprogs[$index]} 2> /dev/null > "${perfdata}"
- fi
- if [ "x$?" != "x0" ]
- then
- echo "${mode} annotate [Failed: perf record]"
- err=1
- return
+ if ! perf mem record -o - ${testprogs[$index]} 2> /dev/null > "${perfdata}"
+ then
+ echo "${mode} annotate [Failed: perf record]"
+ err=1
+ return
+ fi
fi

# Generate the annotated output file
if [ "x${mode}" == "xBasic" ]
then
- perf annotate --code-with-type -i "${perfdata}" --stdio --percent-limit 1 2> /dev/null > "${perfout}"
+ if ! perf annotate --code-with-type -i "${perfdata}" --stdio --percent-limit 1 2> /dev/null > "${perfout}"
+ then
+ echo "${mode} annotate [Failed: perf annotate]"
+ err=1
+ return
+ fi
else
- perf annotate --code-with-type -i - --stdio 2> /dev/null --percent-limit 1 < "${perfdata}" > "${perfout}"
+ if ! perf annotate --code-with-type -i - --stdio 2> /dev/null --percent-limit 1 < "${perfdata}" > "${perfout}"
+ then
+ echo "${mode} annotate [Failed: perf annotate]"
+ err=1
+ return
+ fi
fi

# check if it has the target data type
--
2.55.0