diff --git a/atahpt.c b/atahpt.c
index c87bc36..6263062 100644
--- a/atahpt.c
+++ b/atahpt.c
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@
 	get_io_perms();
 
 	io_base_addr = pcidev_init(PCI_VENDOR_ID_HPT, PCI_BASE_ADDRESS_4,
-				   ata_hpt, programmer_param);
+				   ata_hpt);
 
 	/* Enable flash access. */
 	reg32 = pci_read_long(pcidev_dev, REG_FLASH_ACCESS);
@@ -66,7 +66,6 @@
 	reg32 &= ~(1 << 24);
 	pci_write_long(pcidev_dev, REG_FLASH_ACCESS, reg32);
 
-	free(programmer_param);
 	pci_cleanup(pacc);
 	release_io_perms();
 	return 0;
diff --git a/buspirate_spi.c b/buspirate_spi.c
index 1bf1d58..4dceca5 100644
--- a/buspirate_spi.c
+++ b/buspirate_spi.c
@@ -101,24 +101,14 @@
 	char *speed = NULL;
 	int spispeed = 0x7;
 
-	if (programmer_param && !strlen(programmer_param)) {
-		free(programmer_param);
-		programmer_param = NULL;
-	}
-	if (programmer_param) {
-		dev = extract_param(&programmer_param, "dev=", ",:");
-		speed = extract_param(&programmer_param, "spispeed=", ",:");
-		if (strlen(programmer_param))
-			msg_perr("Unhandled programmer parameters: %s\n",
-				programmer_param);
-		free(programmer_param);
-		programmer_param = NULL;
-	}
-	if (!dev) {
+	dev = extract_param(&programmer_param, "dev", ",:");
+	if (!dev || !strlen(dev)) {
 		msg_perr("No serial device given. Use flashrom -p "
 			"buspirate_spi:dev=/dev/ttyUSB0\n");
 		return 1;
 	}
+
+	speed = extract_param(&programmer_param, "spispeed", ",:");
 	if (speed) {
 		for (i = 0; spispeeds[i].name; i++)
 			if (!strncasecmp(spispeeds[i].name, speed,
@@ -129,12 +119,15 @@
 		if (!spispeeds[i].name)
 			msg_perr("Invalid SPI speed, using default.\n");
 	}
+	free(speed);
+
 	/* This works because speeds numbering starts at 0 and is contiguous. */
 	msg_pdbg("SPI speed is %sHz\n", spispeeds[spispeed].name);
 
 	ret = buspirate_serialport_setup(dev);
 	if (ret)
 		return ret;
+	free(dev);
 
 	/* This is the brute force version, but it should work. */
 	for (i = 0; i < 19; i++) {
diff --git a/chipset_enable.c b/chipset_enable.c
index f743ccf..855cd2b 100644
--- a/chipset_enable.c
+++ b/chipset_enable.c
@@ -300,11 +300,8 @@
 	int max_decode_fwh_decode = 0;
 	int contiguous = 1;
 
-	if (programmer_param)
-		idsel = strstr(programmer_param, "fwh_idsel=");
-
-	if (idsel) {
-		idsel += strlen("fwh_idsel=");
+	idsel = extract_param(&programmer_param, "fwh_idsel", ",:");
+	if (idsel && strlen(idsel)) {
 		fwh_conf = (uint32_t)strtoul(idsel, NULL, 0);
 
 		/* FIXME: Need to undo this on shutdown. */
@@ -312,7 +309,15 @@
 		pci_write_long(dev, 0xd0, fwh_conf);
 		pci_write_word(dev, 0xd4, fwh_conf);
 		/* FIXME: Decode settings are not changed. */
+	} else if (idsel) {
+		msg_perr("Error: idsel= specified, but no number given.\n");
+		free(idsel);
+		/* FIXME: Return failure here once internal_init() starts
+		 * to care about the return value of the chipset enable.
+		 */
+		exit(1);
 	}
+	free(idsel);
 
 	/* Ignore all legacy ranges below 1 MB.
 	 * We currently only support flashing the chip which responds to
diff --git a/drkaiser.c b/drkaiser.c
index 3bbff7c..ee3904e 100644
--- a/drkaiser.c
+++ b/drkaiser.c
@@ -38,8 +38,9 @@
 	uint32_t addr;
 
 	get_io_perms();
+
 	pcidev_init(PCI_VENDOR_ID_DRKAISER, PCI_BASE_ADDRESS_2,
-		    drkaiser_pcidev, programmer_param);
+		    drkaiser_pcidev);
 
 	/* Write magic register to enable flash write. */
 	pci_write_word(pcidev_dev, PCI_MAGIC_DRKAISER_ADDR,
@@ -53,6 +54,7 @@
 			       addr, 128 * 1024);
 
 	buses_supported = CHIP_BUSTYPE_PARALLEL;
+
 	return 0;
 }
 
@@ -60,7 +62,6 @@
 {
 	/* Write protect the flash again. */
 	pci_write_word(pcidev_dev, PCI_MAGIC_DRKAISER_ADDR, 0);
-	free(programmer_param);
 	pci_cleanup(pacc);
 	release_io_perms();
 	return 0;
diff --git a/dummyflasher.c b/dummyflasher.c
index b543222..456e22d 100644
--- a/dummyflasher.c
+++ b/dummyflasher.c
@@ -25,44 +25,46 @@
 #include "flash.h"
 #include "chipdrivers.h"
 
+static void tolower_string(char *str)
+{
+	for (; *str != '\0'; str++)
+		*str = (char)tolower((unsigned char)*str);
+}
+
 int dummy_init(void)
 {
-	int i;
+	char *bustext = NULL;
+
 	msg_pspew("%s\n", __func__);
 
-	/* "all" is equivalent to specifying no type. */
-	if (programmer_param && (!strcmp(programmer_param, "all"))) {
-		free(programmer_param);
-		programmer_param = NULL;
-	}
-	if (!programmer_param)
-		programmer_param = strdup("parallel,lpc,fwh,spi");
+	bustext = extract_param(&programmer_param, "bus", ",:");
+	msg_pdbg("Requested buses are: %s\n", bustext ? bustext : "default");
+	if (!bustext)
+		bustext = strdup("parallel+lpc+fwh+spi");
 	/* Convert the parameters to lowercase. */
-	for (i = 0; programmer_param[i] != '\0'; i++)
-		programmer_param[i] =
-		    (char)tolower((unsigned char)programmer_param[i]);
+	tolower_string(bustext);
 
 	buses_supported = CHIP_BUSTYPE_NONE;
-	if (strstr(programmer_param, "parallel")) {
+	if (strstr(bustext, "parallel")) {
 		buses_supported |= CHIP_BUSTYPE_PARALLEL;
 		msg_pdbg("Enabling support for %s flash.\n", "parallel");
 	}
-	if (strstr(programmer_param, "lpc")) {
+	if (strstr(bustext, "lpc")) {
 		buses_supported |= CHIP_BUSTYPE_LPC;
 		msg_pdbg("Enabling support for %s flash.\n", "LPC");
 	}
-	if (strstr(programmer_param, "fwh")) {
+	if (strstr(bustext, "fwh")) {
 		buses_supported |= CHIP_BUSTYPE_FWH;
 		msg_pdbg("Enabling support for %s flash.\n", "FWH");
 	}
-	if (strstr(programmer_param, "spi")) {
+	if (strstr(bustext, "spi")) {
 		buses_supported |= CHIP_BUSTYPE_SPI;
 		spi_controller = SPI_CONTROLLER_DUMMY;
 		msg_pdbg("Enabling support for %s flash.\n", "SPI");
 	}
 	if (buses_supported == CHIP_BUSTYPE_NONE)
 		msg_pdbg("Support for all flash bus types disabled.\n");
-	free(programmer_param);
+	free(bustext);
 	return 0;
 }
 
diff --git a/flash.h b/flash.h
index 321c59c..4e3c9b9 100644
--- a/flash.h
+++ b/flash.h
@@ -336,7 +336,7 @@
 	const char *device_name;
 };
 uint32_t pcidev_validate(struct pci_dev *dev, uint32_t bar, const struct pcidev_status *devs);
-uint32_t pcidev_init(uint16_t vendor_id, uint32_t bar, const struct pcidev_status *devs, char *pcidev_bdf);
+uint32_t pcidev_init(uint16_t vendor_id, uint32_t bar, const struct pcidev_status *devs);
 #endif
 
 /* print.c */
diff --git a/flashrom.8 b/flashrom.8
index d94df61..96aff5e 100644
--- a/flashrom.8
+++ b/flashrom.8
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@
 .BR "* ft2232_spi" " (for SPI flash ROMs attached to a FT2232H/FT4232H based\
 USB SPI programmer)"
 .sp
-.BR "* serprog" " (for flash ROMs attached to Urja's AVR programmer)"
+.BR "* serprog" " (for flash ROMs attached to a programmer speaking serprog)"
 .sp
 .BR "* buspirate_spi" " (for SPI flash ROMs attached to a Bus Pirate)"
 .sp
@@ -296,22 +296,23 @@
 .BR "dummy " programmer
 An optional parameter specifies the bus types it
 should support. For that you have to use the
-.B "flashrom \-p dummy:type"
+.B "flashrom \-p dummy:bus=[type[+type[+type]]]"
 syntax where
 .B type
-can be any comma-separated combination of
-.BR parallel ", " lpc ", " fwh ", " spi ", or " all
-(in any order).
+can be any of
+.BR parallel ", " lpc ", " fwh ", " spi
+in any order. If you specify bus without type, all buses will be disabled.
+If you do not specify bus, all buses will be enabled.
 .sp
 Example:
-.B "flashrom \-p dummy:lpc,fwh"
+.B "flashrom \-p dummy:bus=lpc+fwh"
 .TP
 .BR "nic3com" , " nicrealtek" , " nicsmc1211" , " gfxnvidia" , " satasii \
 " and " atahpt " programmers
 These programmers have an option to specify the PCI address of the card
 your want to use, which must be specified if more than one card supported
 by the selected programmer is installed in your system. The syntax is
-.BR "flashrom \-p xxxx:bb:dd.f" ,
+.BR "flashrom \-p xxxx:pci=bb:dd.f" ,
 where
 .B xxxx
 is the name of the programmer
@@ -323,7 +324,7 @@
 is the PCI function number of the desired device.
 .sp
 Example:
-.B "flashrom \-p nic3com:05:04.0"
+.B "flashrom \-p nic3com:pci=05:04.0"
 .TP
 .BR "it87spi " programmer
 An optional
@@ -342,7 +343,7 @@
 An optional parameter specifies the controller
 type and interface/port it should support. For that you have to use the
 .sp
-.B "  flashrom \-p ft2232_spi:model,port=interface"
+.B "  flashrom \-p ft2232_spi:type=model,port=interface"
 .sp
 syntax where
 .B model
@@ -363,11 +364,11 @@
 programmer. In the device/baud combination, the device has to start with a
 slash. For serial, you have to use the
 .sp
-.B "  flashrom \-p serprog:/dev/device:baud"
+.B "  flashrom \-p serprog:dev=/dev/device:baud"
 .sp
 syntax and for IP, you have to use
 .sp
-.B "  flashrom \-p serprog:ip:port"
+.B "  flashrom \-p serprog:ip=ipaddr:port"
 .sp
 instead. More information about serprog is available in
 .B serprog-protocol.txt
diff --git a/flashrom.c b/flashrom.c
index 090b424..db15ae5 100644
--- a/flashrom.c
+++ b/flashrom.c
@@ -434,6 +434,7 @@
 
 int programmer_init(char *param)
 {
+	int ret;
 	/* Initialize all programmer specific data. */
 	/* Default to unlimited decode sizes. */
 	max_rom_decode = (const struct decode_sizes) {
@@ -456,7 +457,13 @@
 	programmer_param = param;
 	msg_pdbg("Initializing %s programmer\n",
 		 programmer_table[programmer].name);
-	return programmer_table[programmer].init();
+	ret = programmer_table[programmer].init();
+	if (programmer_param && strlen(programmer_param)) {
+		msg_perr("Unhandled programmer parameters: %s\n",
+			 programmer_param);
+		/* Do not error out here, the init itself was successful. */
+	}
+	return ret;
 }
 
 int programmer_shutdown(void)
@@ -564,22 +571,24 @@
 char *strcat_realloc(char *dest, const char *src)
 {
 	dest = realloc(dest, strlen(dest) + strlen(src) + 1);
-	if (!dest)
+	if (!dest) {
+		msg_gerr("Out of memory!\n");
 		return NULL;
+	}
 	strcat(dest, src);
 	return dest;
 }
 
 /* This is a somewhat hacked function similar in some ways to strtok().
- * It will look for needle in haystack, return a copy of needle and remove
- * everything from the first occurrence of needle to the next delimiter
- * from haystack.
+ * It will look for needle with a subsequent '=' in haystack, return a copy of
+ * needle and remove everything from the first occurrence of needle to the next
+ * delimiter from haystack.
  */
 char *extract_param(char **haystack, char *needle, char *delim)
 {
-	char *param_pos, *rest, *tmp;
-	char *dev = NULL;
-	int devlen;
+	char *param_pos, *opt_pos, *rest;
+	char *opt = NULL;
+	int optlen;
 	int needlelen;
 
 	needlelen = strlen(needle);
@@ -595,43 +604,41 @@
 	do {
 		if (!param_pos)
 			return NULL;
-		/* Beginning of the string? */
-		if (param_pos == *haystack)
-			break;
-		/* After a delimiter? */
-		if (strchr(delim, *(param_pos - 1)))
-			break;
+		/* Needle followed by '='? */
+		if (param_pos[needlelen] == '=') {
+			
+			/* Beginning of the string? */
+			if (param_pos == *haystack)
+				break;
+			/* After a delimiter? */
+			if (strchr(delim, *(param_pos - 1)))
+				break;
+		}
 		/* Continue searching. */
 		param_pos++;
 		param_pos = strstr(param_pos, needle);
 	} while (1);
-		
+	
 	if (param_pos) {
-		param_pos += strlen(needle);
-		devlen = strcspn(param_pos, delim);
-		if (devlen) {
-			dev = malloc(devlen + 1);
-			if (!dev) {
-				msg_gerr("Out of memory!\n");
-				exit(1);
-			}
-			strncpy(dev, param_pos, devlen);
-			dev[devlen] = '\0';
-		}
-		rest = param_pos + devlen;
-		rest += strspn(rest, delim);
-		param_pos -= strlen(needle);
-		memmove(param_pos, rest, strlen(rest) + 1);
-		tmp = realloc(*haystack, strlen(*haystack) + 1);
-		if (!tmp) {
+		/* Get the string after needle and '='. */
+		opt_pos = param_pos + needlelen + 1;
+		optlen = strcspn(opt_pos, delim);
+		/* Return an empty string if the parameter was empty. */
+		opt = malloc(optlen + 1);
+		if (!opt) {
 			msg_gerr("Out of memory!\n");
 			exit(1);
 		}
-		*haystack = tmp;
+		strncpy(opt, opt_pos, optlen);
+		opt[optlen] = '\0';
+		rest = opt_pos + optlen;
+		/* Skip all delimiters after the current parameter. */
+		rest += strspn(rest, delim);
+		memmove(param_pos, rest, strlen(rest) + 1);
+		/* We could shrink haystack, but the effort is not worth it. */
 	}
-	
 
-	return dev;
+	return opt;
 }
 
 /* start is an offset to the base address of the flash chip */
diff --git a/ft2232_spi.c b/ft2232_spi.c
index c45bb1f..0245c53 100644
--- a/ft2232_spi.c
+++ b/ft2232_spi.c
@@ -76,46 +76,49 @@
 	int f;
 	struct ftdi_context *ftdic = &ftdic_context;
 	unsigned char buf[512];
-	char *portpos = NULL;
 	int ft2232_type = FTDI_FT4232H;
 	enum ftdi_interface ft2232_interface = INTERFACE_B;
+	char *arg;
+
+	arg = extract_param(&programmer_param, "type", ",:");
+	if (arg) {
+		if (!strcasecmp(arg, "2232H"))
+			ft2232_type = FTDI_FT2232H;
+		else if (!strcasecmp(arg, "4232H"))
+			ft2232_type = FTDI_FT4232H;
+		else {
+			msg_perr("Error: Invalid device type specified.\n");
+			free(arg);
+			return 1;
+		}
+	}
+	free(arg);
+	arg = extract_param(&programmer_param, "port", ",:");
+	if (arg) {
+		switch (toupper(*arg)) {
+		case 'A':
+			ft2232_interface = INTERFACE_A;
+			break;
+		case 'B':
+			ft2232_interface = INTERFACE_B;
+			break;
+		default:
+			msg_perr("Error: Invalid port/interface specified.\n");
+			free(arg);
+			return 1;
+		}
+	}
+	free(arg);
+	msg_pdbg("Using device type %s ",
+		     (ft2232_type == FTDI_FT2232H) ? "2232H" : "4232H");
+	msg_pdbg("interface %s\n",
+		     (ft2232_interface == INTERFACE_A) ? "A" : "B");
 
 	if (ftdi_init(ftdic) < 0) {
 		msg_perr("ftdi_init failed\n");
 		return EXIT_FAILURE; // TODO
 	}
 
-	if (programmer_param && !strlen(programmer_param)) {
-		free(programmer_param);
-		programmer_param = NULL;
-	}
-	if (programmer_param) {
-		if (strstr(programmer_param, "2232"))
-			ft2232_type = FTDI_FT2232H;
-		if (strstr(programmer_param, "4232"))
-			ft2232_type = FTDI_FT4232H;
-		portpos = strstr(programmer_param, "port=");
-		if (portpos) {
-			portpos += 5;
-			switch (toupper(*portpos)) {
-			case 'A':
-				ft2232_interface = INTERFACE_A;
-				break;
-			case 'B':
-				ft2232_interface = INTERFACE_B;
-				break;
-			default:
-				msg_perr("Invalid interface specified, "
-					"using default.\n");
-			}
-		}
-		free(programmer_param);
-	}
-	msg_pdbg("Using device type %s ",
-		     (ft2232_type == FTDI_FT2232H) ? "2232H" : "4232H");
-	msg_pdbg("interface %s\n",
-		     (ft2232_interface == INTERFACE_A) ? "A" : "B");
-
 	f = ftdi_usb_open(ftdic, 0x0403, ft2232_type);
 
 	if (f < 0 && f != -5) {
diff --git a/gfxnvidia.c b/gfxnvidia.c
index 9bb382d..962ba1a 100644
--- a/gfxnvidia.c
+++ b/gfxnvidia.c
@@ -62,7 +62,8 @@
 	get_io_perms();
 
 	io_base_addr = pcidev_init(PCI_VENDOR_ID_NVIDIA, PCI_BASE_ADDRESS_0,
-				   gfx_nvidia, programmer_param);
+				   gfx_nvidia);
+
 	io_base_addr += 0x300000;
 	msg_pinfo("Detected NVIDIA I/O base address: 0x%x.\n", io_base_addr);
 
@@ -87,7 +88,6 @@
 	reg32 |= (1 << 0);
 	pci_write_long(pcidev_dev, 0x50, reg32);
 
-	free(programmer_param);
 	pci_cleanup(pacc);
 	release_io_perms();
 	return 0;
diff --git a/internal.c b/internal.c
index 8230926..188fd5d 100644
--- a/internal.c
+++ b/internal.c
@@ -121,36 +121,45 @@
 	int force_laptop = 0;
 	char *arg;
 
-	arg = extract_param(&programmer_param, "boardenable=", ",:");
+	arg = extract_param(&programmer_param, "boardenable", ",:");
 	if (arg && !strcmp(arg,"force")) {
 		force_boardenable = 1;
 	} else if (arg && !strlen(arg)) {
 		msg_perr("Missing argument for boardenable.\n");
+		free(arg);
+		return 1;
 	} else if (arg) {
 		msg_perr("Unknown argument for boardenable: %s\n", arg);
-		exit(1);
+		free(arg);
+		return 1;
 	}
 	free(arg);
 
-	arg = extract_param(&programmer_param, "boardmismatch=", ",:");
+	arg = extract_param(&programmer_param, "boardmismatch", ",:");
 	if (arg && !strcmp(arg,"force")) {
 		force_boardmismatch = 1;
 	} else if (arg && !strlen(arg)) {
 		msg_perr("Missing argument for boardmismatch.\n");
+		free(arg);
+		return 1;
 	} else if (arg) {
 		msg_perr("Unknown argument for boardmismatch: %s\n", arg);
-		exit(1);
+		free(arg);
+		return 1;
 	}
 	free(arg);
 
-	arg = extract_param(&programmer_param, "laptop=", ",:");
+	arg = extract_param(&programmer_param, "laptop", ",:");
 	if (arg && !strcmp(arg,"force_I_want_a_brick")) {
 		force_laptop = 1;
 	} else if (arg && !strlen(arg)) {
 		msg_perr("Missing argument for laptop.\n");
+		free(arg);
+		return 1;
 	} else if (arg) {
 		msg_perr("Unknown argument for laptop: %s\n", arg);
-		exit(1);
+		free(arg);
+		return 1;
 	}
 	free(arg);
 
diff --git a/it87spi.c b/it87spi.c
index d374fcd..d314856 100644
--- a/it87spi.c
+++ b/it87spi.c
@@ -142,22 +142,24 @@
 		flashport = sio_read(port, 0x64) << 8;
 		flashport |= sio_read(port, 0x65);
 		msg_pdbg("Serial flash port 0x%04x\n", flashport);
-		if (programmer_param && !strlen(programmer_param)) {
-			free(programmer_param);
-			programmer_param = NULL;
+		/* Non-default port requested? */
+		portpos = extract_param(&programmer_param, "it87spiport", ",:");
+		if (portpos && strlen(portpos)) {
+			flashport = strtol(portpos, (char **)NULL, 0);
+			msg_pinfo("Forcing serial flash port 0x%04x\n",
+				  flashport);
+			sio_write(port, 0x64, (flashport >> 8));
+			sio_write(port, 0x65, (flashport & 0xff));
+		} else if (portpos) {
+			msg_perr("Error: it87spiport specified, but no port "
+				 "given.\n");
+			free(portpos);
+			/* FIXME: Return failure here once it87spi_common_init()
+			 * can handle the return value sanely.
+			 */
+			exit(1);
 		}
-		if (programmer_param) {
-			portpos = extract_param(&programmer_param,
-						"it87spiport=", ",:");
-			if (portpos) {
-				flashport = strtol(portpos, (char **)NULL, 0);
-				msg_pinfo("Forcing serial flash port 0x%04x\n",
-					  flashport);
-				sio_write(port, 0x64, (flashport >> 8));
-				sio_write(port, 0x65, (flashport & 0xff));
-				free(portpos);
-			}
-		}
+		free(portpos);
 		exit_conf_mode_ite(port);
 		break;
 	/* TODO: Handle more IT87xx if they support flash translation */
diff --git a/nic3com.c b/nic3com.c
index f8e5bd8..381ccf4 100644
--- a/nic3com.c
+++ b/nic3com.c
@@ -59,7 +59,8 @@
 	get_io_perms();
 
 	io_base_addr = pcidev_init(PCI_VENDOR_ID_3COM, PCI_BASE_ADDRESS_0,
-				   nics_3com, programmer_param);
+				   nics_3com);
+
 	id = pcidev_dev->device_id;
 
 	/* 3COM 3C90xB cards need a special fixup. */
@@ -96,7 +97,6 @@
 		OUTL(internal_conf, io_base_addr + INTERNAL_CONFIG);
 	}
 
-	free(programmer_param);
 	pci_cleanup(pacc);
 	release_io_perms();
 	return 0;
diff --git a/nicnatsemi.c b/nicnatsemi.c
index f2e99e3..c3b93d9 100644
--- a/nicnatsemi.c
+++ b/nicnatsemi.c
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
 	get_io_perms();
 
 	io_base_addr = pcidev_init(PCI_VENDOR_ID_NATSEMI, PCI_BASE_ADDRESS_0,
-				   nics_natsemi, programmer_param);
+				   nics_natsemi);
 
 	buses_supported = CHIP_BUSTYPE_PARALLEL;
 
@@ -48,7 +48,6 @@
 
 int nicnatsemi_shutdown(void)
 {
-	free(programmer_param);
 	pci_cleanup(pacc);
 	release_io_perms();
 	return 0;
diff --git a/nicrealtek.c b/nicrealtek.c
index c2abcfb..38f5465 100644
--- a/nicrealtek.c
+++ b/nicrealtek.c
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
 	get_io_perms();
 
 	io_base_addr = pcidev_init(PCI_VENDOR_ID_REALTEK, PCI_BASE_ADDRESS_0,
-				   nics_realtek, programmer_param);
+				   nics_realtek);
 
 	buses_supported = CHIP_BUSTYPE_PARALLEL;
 
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@
 	get_io_perms();
 
 	io_base_addr = pcidev_init(PCI_VENDOR_ID_SMC1211, PCI_BASE_ADDRESS_0,
-				   nics_realteksmc1211, programmer_param);
+				   nics_realteksmc1211);
 
 	buses_supported = CHIP_BUSTYPE_PARALLEL;
 
@@ -66,7 +66,6 @@
 int nicrealtek_shutdown(void)
 {
 	/* FIXME: We forgot to disable software access again. */
-	free(programmer_param);
 	pci_cleanup(pacc);
 	release_io_perms();
 	return 0;
diff --git a/pcidev.c b/pcidev.c
index 3153f15..4cb629d 100644
--- a/pcidev.c
+++ b/pcidev.c
@@ -78,10 +78,11 @@
 }
 
 uint32_t pcidev_init(uint16_t vendor_id, uint32_t bar,
-		     const struct pcidev_status *devs, char *pcidev_bdf)
+		     const struct pcidev_status *devs)
 {
 	struct pci_dev *dev;
 	struct pci_filter filter;
+	char *pcidev_bdf;
 	char *msg = NULL;
 	int found = 0;
 	uint32_t addr = 0, curaddr = 0;
@@ -93,12 +94,14 @@
 
 	/* Filter by vendor and also bb:dd.f (if supplied by the user). */
 	filter.vendor = vendor_id;
+	pcidev_bdf = extract_param(&programmer_param, "pci", ",");
 	if (pcidev_bdf != NULL) {
 		if ((msg = pci_filter_parse_slot(&filter, pcidev_bdf))) {
 			msg_perr("Error: %s\n", msg);
 			exit(1);
 		}
 	}
+	free(pcidev_bdf);
 
 	for (dev = pacc->devices; dev; dev = dev->next) {
 		if (pci_filter_match(&filter, dev)) {
diff --git a/satasii.c b/satasii.c
index 81953a0..5c56293 100644
--- a/satasii.c
+++ b/satasii.c
@@ -46,8 +46,8 @@
 
 	get_io_perms();
 
-	pcidev_init(PCI_VENDOR_ID_SII, PCI_BASE_ADDRESS_0, satas_sii,
-		    programmer_param);
+	pcidev_init(PCI_VENDOR_ID_SII, PCI_BASE_ADDRESS_0, satas_sii);
+
 	id = pcidev_dev->device_id;
 
 	if ((id == 0x3132) || (id == 0x3124)) {
@@ -71,7 +71,6 @@
 
 int satasii_shutdown(void)
 {
-	free(programmer_param);
 	pci_cleanup(pacc);
 	release_io_perms();
 	return 0;
diff --git a/serprog.c b/serprog.c
index efcf9d8..b2f5787 100644
--- a/serprog.c
+++ b/serprog.c
@@ -298,43 +298,80 @@
 int serprog_init(void)
 {
 	uint16_t iface;
-	int len;
 	unsigned char pgmname[17];
 	unsigned char rbuf[3];
 	unsigned char c;
-	char *num;
-	char *dev;
-	msg_pspew("%s\n", __func__);
-	/* the parameter is either of format "/dev/device:baud" or "ip:port" */
-	if ((!programmer_param) || (!strlen(programmer_param))) {
-		nodevice:
-		msg_perr("Error: No device/host given for the serial programmer driver.\n"
-			"Use flashrom -p serprog=/dev/device:baud or flashrom -p serprog=ip:port\n");
-		exit(1);
-	}
-	num = strstr(programmer_param, ":");
-	len = num - programmer_param;
-	if (!len) goto nodevice;
-	if (!num) {
-		msg_perr("Error: No port or baudrate specified to serial programmer driver.\n"
-			"Use flashrom -p serprog=/dev/device:baud or flashrom -p serprog=ip:port\n");
-		exit(1);
-	}
-	len = num - programmer_param;
-	dev = malloc(len + 1);
-	if (!dev) sp_die("Error: memory allocation failure");
-	memcpy(dev, programmer_param, len);
-	dev[len] = 0;
-	num = strdup(num + 1);
-	if (!num) sp_die("Error: memory allocation failure");
-	free(programmer_param);
-	programmer_param = NULL;
+	char *device;
+	char *baudport;
+	int have_device = 0;
 
-	if (dev[0] == '/') sp_fd = sp_openserport(dev, atoi(num));
-	else sp_fd = sp_opensocket(dev, atoi(num));
+	/* the parameter is either of format "dev=/dev/device:baud" or "ip=ip:port" */
+	device = extract_param(&programmer_param, "dev", ",");
+	if (device && strlen(device)) {
+		baudport = strstr(device, ":");
+		if (baudport) {
+			/* Split device from baudrate. */
+			*baudport = '\0';
+			baudport++;
+		}
+		if (!baudport || !strlen(baudport)) {
+			msg_perr("Error: No baudrate specified.\n"
+				 "Use flashrom -p serprog:dev=/dev/device:baud\n");
+			free(device);
+			return 1;		
+		}
+		if (strlen(device)) {
+			sp_fd = sp_openserport(device, atoi(baudport));
+			have_device++;
+		}
+	}
+	if (device && !strlen(device)) {
+		msg_perr("Error: No device specified.\n"
+			 "Use flashrom -p serprog:dev=/dev/device:baud\n");
+		free(device);
+		return 1;
+	}
+	free(device);
 
-	free(dev); dev = NULL;
-	free(num); num = NULL;
+	device = extract_param(&programmer_param, "ip", ",");
+	if (have_device && device) {
+		msg_perr("Error: Both host and device specified.\n"
+			 "Please use either dev= or ip= but not both.\n");
+		free(device);
+		return 1;
+	}
+	if (device && strlen(device)) {
+		baudport = strstr(device, ":");
+		if (baudport) {
+			/* Split host from port. */
+			*baudport = '\0';
+			baudport++;
+		}
+		if (!baudport || !strlen(baudport)) {
+			msg_perr("Error: No port specified.\n"
+				 "Use flashrom -p serprog:ip=ipaddr:port\n");
+			free(device);
+			return 1;		
+		}
+		if (strlen(device)) {
+			sp_fd = sp_opensocket(device, atoi(baudport));
+			have_device++;
+		}
+	}
+	if (device && !strlen(device)) {
+		msg_perr("Error: No host specified.\n"
+			 "Use flashrom -p serprog:ip=ipaddr:port\n");
+		free(device);
+		return 1;
+	}
+	free(device);
+
+	if (!have_device) {
+		msg_perr("Error: Neither host nor device specified.\n"
+			 "Use flashrom -p serprog:dev=/dev/device:baud or "
+			 "flashrom -p serprog:ip=ipaddr:port\n");
+		return 1;
+	}
 
 	msg_pdbg(MSGHEADER "connected - attempting to synchronize\n");