Merge remote-tracking branch 'remotes/stsquad/tags/pull-for-6.2-020921-1' into staging

Testing and plugin updates:

  - fix typo in execlog plugin
  - clean-up and document gitlab FOO_RUNNER_AVAILABLE vars
  - fix plugin build issue on OSX and modules
  - add multi-core support to cache modelling plugin
  - clean-ups for plugin arg=FOO handling

# gpg: Signature made Thu 02 Sep 2021 11:33:02 BST
# gpg:                using RSA key 6685AE99E75167BCAFC8DF35FBD0DB095A9E2A44
# gpg: Good signature from "Alex Bennée (Master Work Key) <alex.bennee@linaro.org>" [full]
# Primary key fingerprint: 6685 AE99 E751 67BC AFC8  DF35 FBD0 DB09 5A9E 2A44

* remotes/stsquad/tags/pull-for-6.2-020921-1: (22 commits)
  docs/devel: be consistent about example plugin names
  docs/deprecated: deprecate passing plugin args through `arg=`
  tests/plugins/syscalls: adhere to new arg-passing scheme
  tests/plugins/mem: introduce "track" arg and make args not positional
  tests/plugins/insn: made arg inline not positional and parse it as bool
  tests/plugins/bb: adapt to the new arg passing scheme
  docs/tcg-plugins: new passing parameters scheme for cache docs
  plugins/howvec: adapting to the new argument passing scheme
  plugins/hwprofile: adapt to the new plugin arguments scheme
  plugins/lockstep: make socket path not positional & parse bool arg
  plugins/hotblocks: Added correct boolean argument parsing
  plugins/hotpages: introduce sortby arg and parsed bool args correctly
  plugins/api: added a boolean parsing plugin api
  plugins: allow plugin arguments to be passed directly
  docs/devel/tcg-plugins: added cores arg to cache plugin
  plugins: sort exported symbol list
  plugins/cache: supported multicore cache modelling
  plugins: do not limit exported symbols if modules are active
  gitlab-ci: Fix ..._RUNNER_AVAILABLE variables and document them
  gitlab-ci: Remove superfluous "dnf install" statement
  ...

Signed-off-by: Peter Maydell <peter.maydell@linaro.org>

27 files changed, 467 insertions, 280 deletions

diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.d/buildtest.yml b/.gitlab-ci.d/buildtest.yml
index e74998e..be4d90c 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.d/buildtest.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.d/buildtest.yml
@@ -202,85 +202,6 @@ acceptance-system-opensuse:
     MAKE_CHECK_ARGS: check-acceptance
 
 
-build-disabled:
-  extends: .native_build_job_template
-  needs:
-    job: amd64-fedora-container
-  variables:
-    IMAGE: fedora
-    CONFIGURE_ARGS:
-      --disable-attr
-      --disable-auth-pam
-      --disable-avx2
-      --disable-bochs
-      --disable-brlapi
-      --disable-bzip2
-      --disable-cap-ng
-      --disable-capstone
-      --disable-cloop
-      --disable-coroutine-pool
-      --disable-curl
-      --disable-curses
-      --disable-dmg
-      --disable-docs
-      --disable-gcrypt
-      --disable-glusterfs
-      --disable-gnutls
-      --disable-gtk
-      --disable-guest-agent
-      --disable-iconv
-      --disable-keyring
-      --disable-kvm
-      --disable-libiscsi
-      --disable-libpmem
-      --disable-libssh
-      --disable-libudev
-      --disable-libusb
-      --disable-libxml2
-      --disable-linux-aio
-      --disable-live-block-migration
-      --disable-lzo
-      --disable-malloc-trim
-      --disable-mpath
-      --disable-nettle
-      --disable-numa
-      --disable-opengl
-      --disable-parallels
-      --disable-pie
-      --disable-qcow1
-      --disable-qed
-      --disable-qom-cast-debug
-      --disable-rbd
-      --disable-rdma
-      --disable-replication
-      --disable-sdl
-      --disable-seccomp
-      --disable-slirp
-      --disable-smartcard
-      --disable-snappy
-      --disable-sparse
-      --disable-spice
-      --disable-strip
-      --disable-tpm
-      --disable-usb-redir
-      --disable-vdi
-      --disable-vhost-crypto
-      --disable-vhost-net
-      --disable-vhost-scsi
-      --disable-vhost-kernel
-      --disable-vhost-user
-      --disable-vhost-vdpa
-      --disable-vhost-vsock
-      --disable-virglrenderer
-      --disable-vnc
-      --disable-vte
-      --disable-vvfat
-      --disable-xen
-      --disable-zstd
-    TARGETS: arm-softmmu i386-softmmu ppc64-softmmu mips64-softmmu
-      s390x-softmmu i386-linux-user
-    MAKE_CHECK_ARGS: check-qtest SPEED=slow
-
 # This jobs explicitly disable TCG (--disable-tcg), KVM is detected by
 # the configure script. The container doesn't contain Xen headers so
 # Xen accelerator is not detected / selected. As result it build the
@@ -649,20 +570,26 @@ build-without-default-devices:
 build-without-default-features:
   extends: .native_build_job_template
   needs:
-    job: amd64-debian-container
+    job: amd64-fedora-container
   variables:
-    IMAGE: debian-amd64
-    CONFIGURE_ARGS: --without-default-features --disable-user
-        --target-list-exclude=arm-softmmu,i386-softmmu,mipsel-softmmu,mips64-softmmu,ppc-softmmu
-    MAKE_CHECK_ARGS: check-unit
+    IMAGE: fedora
+    CONFIGURE_ARGS:
+      --without-default-features
+      --disable-capstone
+      --disable-fdt
+      --disable-pie
+      --disable-qom-cast-debug
+      --disable-slirp
+      --disable-strip
+    TARGETS: avr-softmmu i386-softmmu mips64-softmmu s390x-softmmu sh4-softmmu
+      sparc64-softmmu hexagon-linux-user i386-linux-user s390x-linux-user
+    MAKE_CHECK_ARGS: check-unit check-qtest SPEED=slow
 
 build-libvhost-user:
   stage: build
   image: $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE/qemu/fedora:latest
   needs:
     job: amd64-fedora-container
-  before_script:
-    - dnf install -y meson ninja-build
   script:
     - mkdir subprojects/libvhost-user/build
     - cd subprojects/libvhost-user/build
diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.d/custom-runners.yml b/.gitlab-ci.d/custom-runners.yml
index 564b945..0d3e4a7 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.d/custom-runners.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.d/custom-runners.yml
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ ubuntu-20.04-aarch64-all-linux-static:
  - aarch64
  rules:
  - if: '$CI_PROJECT_NAMESPACE == "qemu-project" && $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ /^staging/'
- - if: "$S390X_RUNNER_AVAILABLE"
+ - if: "$AARCH64_RUNNER_AVAILABLE"
  script:
  # --disable-libssh is needed because of https://bugs.launchpad.net/qemu/+bug/1838763
  # --disable-glusterfs is needed because there's no static version of those libs in distro supplied packages
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ ubuntu-20.04-aarch64-all:
  - aarch64
  rules:
  - if: '$CI_PROJECT_NAMESPACE == "qemu-project" && $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ /^staging/'
- - if: "$S390X_RUNNER_AVAILABLE"
+ - if: "$AARCH64_RUNNER_AVAILABLE"
  script:
  - mkdir build
  - cd build
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ ubuntu-20.04-aarch64-alldbg:
  - aarch64
  rules:
  - if: '$CI_PROJECT_NAMESPACE == "qemu-project" && $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ /^staging/'
- - if: "$S390X_RUNNER_AVAILABLE"
+ - if: "$AARCH64_RUNNER_AVAILABLE"
  script:
  - mkdir build
  - cd build
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ ubuntu-20.04-aarch64-clang:
  rules:
  - if: '$CI_PROJECT_NAMESPACE == "qemu-project" && $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ /^staging/'
    when: manual
- - if: "$S390X_RUNNER_AVAILABLE"
+ - if: "$AARCH64_RUNNER_AVAILABLE"
    when: manual
  script:
  - mkdir build
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ ubuntu-20.04-aarch64-tci:
  - aarch64
  rules:
  - if: '$CI_PROJECT_NAMESPACE == "qemu-project" && $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ /^staging/'
- - if: "$S390X_RUNNER_AVAILABLE"
+ - if: "$AARCH64_RUNNER_AVAILABLE"
  script:
  - mkdir build
  - cd build
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@ ubuntu-20.04-aarch64-notcg:
  rules:
  - if: '$CI_PROJECT_NAMESPACE == "qemu-project" && $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ /^staging/'
    when: manual
- - if: "$S390X_RUNNER_AVAILABLE"
+ - if: "$AARCH64_RUNNER_AVAILABLE"
    when: manual
  script:
  - mkdir build
diff --git a/configure b/configure
index dcdbe3f..bd82330 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -3187,9 +3187,8 @@ glib_req_ver=2.56
 glib_modules=gthread-2.0
 if test "$modules" = yes; then
     glib_modules="$glib_modules gmodule-export-2.0"
-fi
-if test "$plugins" = "yes"; then
-    glib_modules="$glib_modules gmodule-2.0"
+elif test "$plugins" = "yes"; then
+    glib_modules="$glib_modules gmodule-no-export-2.0"
 fi
 
 for i in $glib_modules; do
diff --git a/contrib/plugins/cache.c b/contrib/plugins/cache.c
index 066ea6d..a1e03ca 100644
--- a/contrib/plugins/cache.c
+++ b/contrib/plugins/cache.c
@@ -17,18 +17,12 @@ static enum qemu_plugin_mem_rw rw = QEMU_PLUGIN_MEM_RW;
 
 static GHashTable *miss_ht;
 
-static GMutex mtx;
+static GMutex hashtable_lock;
 static GRand *rng;
 
 static int limit;
 static bool sys;
 
-static uint64_t dmem_accesses;
-static uint64_t dmisses;
-
-static uint64_t imem_accesses;
-static uint64_t imisses;
-
 enum EvictionPolicy {
     LRU,
     FIFO,
@@ -80,6 +74,8 @@ typedef struct {
     int blksize_shift;
     uint64_t set_mask;
     uint64_t tag_mask;
+    uint64_t accesses;
+    uint64_t misses;
 } Cache;
 
 typedef struct {
@@ -96,7 +92,16 @@ void (*update_miss)(Cache *cache, int set, int blk);
 void (*metadata_init)(Cache *cache);
 void (*metadata_destroy)(Cache *cache);
 
-Cache *dcache, *icache;
+static int cores;
+static Cache **dcaches, **icaches;
+
+static GMutex *dcache_locks;
+static GMutex *icache_locks;
+
+static uint64_t all_dmem_accesses;
+static uint64_t all_imem_accesses;
+static uint64_t all_imisses;
+static uint64_t all_dmisses;
 
 static int pow_of_two(int num)
 {
@@ -233,20 +238,24 @@ static bool bad_cache_params(int blksize, int assoc, int cachesize)
 
 static Cache *cache_init(int blksize, int assoc, int cachesize)
 {
-    if (bad_cache_params(blksize, assoc, cachesize)) {
-        return NULL;
-    }
-
     Cache *cache;
     int i;
     uint64_t blk_mask;
 
+    /*
+     * This function shall not be called directly, and hence expects suitable
+     * parameters.
+     */
+    g_assert(!bad_cache_params(blksize, assoc, cachesize));
+
     cache = g_new(Cache, 1);
     cache->assoc = assoc;
     cache->cachesize = cachesize;
     cache->num_sets = cachesize / (blksize * assoc);
     cache->sets = g_new(CacheSet, cache->num_sets);
     cache->blksize_shift = pow_of_two(blksize);
+    cache->accesses = 0;
+    cache->misses = 0;
 
     for (i = 0; i < cache->num_sets; i++) {
         cache->sets[i].blocks = g_new0(CacheBlock, assoc);
@@ -263,6 +272,24 @@ static Cache *cache_init(int blksize, int assoc, int cachesize)
     return cache;
 }
 
+static Cache **caches_init(int blksize, int assoc, int cachesize)
+{
+    Cache **caches;
+    int i;
+
+    if (bad_cache_params(blksize, assoc, cachesize)) {
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    caches = g_new(Cache *, cores);
+
+    for (i = 0; i < cores; i++) {
+        caches[i] = cache_init(blksize, assoc, cachesize);
+    }
+
+    return caches;
+}
+
 static int get_invalid_block(Cache *cache, uint64_t set)
 {
     int i;
@@ -353,6 +380,7 @@ static void vcpu_mem_access(unsigned int vcpu_index, qemu_plugin_meminfo_t info,
 {
     uint64_t effective_addr;
     struct qemu_plugin_hwaddr *hwaddr;
+    int cache_idx;
     InsnData *insn;
 
     hwaddr = qemu_plugin_get_hwaddr(info, vaddr);
@@ -361,32 +389,35 @@ static void vcpu_mem_access(unsigned int vcpu_index, qemu_plugin_meminfo_t info,
     }
 
     effective_addr = hwaddr ? qemu_plugin_hwaddr_phys_addr(hwaddr) : vaddr;
+    cache_idx = vcpu_index % cores;
 
-    g_mutex_lock(&mtx);
-    if (!access_cache(dcache, effective_addr)) {
+    g_mutex_lock(&dcache_locks[cache_idx]);
+    if (!access_cache(dcaches[cache_idx], effective_addr)) {
         insn = (InsnData *) userdata;
-        insn->dmisses++;
-        dmisses++;
+        __atomic_fetch_add(&insn->dmisses, 1, __ATOMIC_SEQ_CST);
+        dcaches[cache_idx]->misses++;
     }
-    dmem_accesses++;
-    g_mutex_unlock(&mtx);
+    dcaches[cache_idx]->accesses++;
+    g_mutex_unlock(&dcache_locks[cache_idx]);
 }
 
 static void vcpu_insn_exec(unsigned int vcpu_index, void *userdata)
 {
     uint64_t insn_addr;
     InsnData *insn;
+    int cache_idx;
 
-    g_mutex_lock(&mtx);
     insn_addr = ((InsnData *) userdata)->addr;
 
-    if (!access_cache(icache, insn_addr)) {
+    cache_idx = vcpu_index % cores;
+    g_mutex_lock(&icache_locks[cache_idx]);
+    if (!access_cache(icaches[cache_idx], insn_addr)) {
         insn = (InsnData *) userdata;
-        insn->imisses++;
-        imisses++;
+        __atomic_fetch_add(&insn->imisses, 1, __ATOMIC_SEQ_CST);
+        icaches[cache_idx]->misses++;
     }
-    imem_accesses++;
-    g_mutex_unlock(&mtx);
+    icaches[cache_idx]->accesses++;
+    g_mutex_unlock(&icache_locks[cache_idx]);
 }
 
 static void vcpu_tb_trans(qemu_plugin_id_t id, struct qemu_plugin_tb *tb)
@@ -411,7 +442,7 @@ static void vcpu_tb_trans(qemu_plugin_id_t id, struct qemu_plugin_tb *tb)
          * new entries for those instructions. Instead, we fetch the same
          * entry from the hash table and register it for the callback again.
          */
-        g_mutex_lock(&mtx);
+        g_mutex_lock(&hashtable_lock);
         data = g_hash_table_lookup(miss_ht, GUINT_TO_POINTER(effective_addr));
         if (data == NULL) {
             data = g_new0(InsnData, 1);
@@ -421,7 +452,7 @@ static void vcpu_tb_trans(qemu_plugin_id_t id, struct qemu_plugin_tb *tb)
             g_hash_table_insert(miss_ht, GUINT_TO_POINTER(effective_addr),
                                (gpointer) data);
         }
-        g_mutex_unlock(&mtx);
+        g_mutex_unlock(&hashtable_lock);
 
         qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_mem_cb(insn, vcpu_mem_access,
                                          QEMU_PLUGIN_CB_NO_REGS,
@@ -453,6 +484,15 @@ static void cache_free(Cache *cache)
     g_free(cache);
 }
 
+static void caches_free(Cache **caches)
+{
+    int i;
+
+    for (i = 0; i < cores; i++) {
+        cache_free(caches[i]);
+    }
+}
+
 static int dcmp(gconstpointer a, gconstpointer b)
 {
     InsnData *insn_a = (InsnData *) a;
@@ -461,6 +501,37 @@ static int dcmp(gconstpointer a, gconstpointer b)
     return insn_a->dmisses < insn_b->dmisses ? 1 : -1;
 }
 
+static void append_stats_line(GString *line, uint64_t daccess, uint64_t dmisses,
+                              uint64_t iaccess, uint64_t imisses)
+{
+    double dmiss_rate, imiss_rate;
+
+    dmiss_rate = ((double) dmisses) / (daccess) * 100.0;
+    imiss_rate = ((double) imisses) / (iaccess) * 100.0;
+
+    g_string_append_printf(line, "%-14lu %-12lu %9.4lf%%  %-14lu %-12lu"
+                           " %9.4lf%%\n",
+                           daccess,
+                           dmisses,
+                           daccess ? dmiss_rate : 0.0,
+                           iaccess,
+                           imisses,
+                           iaccess ? imiss_rate : 0.0);
+}
+
+static void sum_stats(void)
+{
+    int i;
+
+    g_assert(cores > 1);
+    for (i = 0; i < cores; i++) {
+        all_imisses += icaches[i]->misses;
+        all_dmisses += dcaches[i]->misses;
+        all_imem_accesses += icaches[i]->accesses;
+        all_dmem_accesses += dcaches[i]->accesses;
+    }
+}
+
 static int icmp(gconstpointer a, gconstpointer b)
 {
     InsnData *insn_a = (InsnData *) a;
@@ -471,19 +542,29 @@ static int icmp(gconstpointer a, gconstpointer b)
 
 static void log_stats(void)
 {
-    g_autoptr(GString) rep = g_string_new("");
-    g_string_append_printf(rep,
-        "Data accesses: %lu, Misses: %lu\nMiss rate: %lf%%\n\n",
-        dmem_accesses,
-        dmisses,
-        ((double) dmisses / (double) dmem_accesses) * 100.0);
-
-    g_string_append_printf(rep,
-        "Instruction accesses: %lu, Misses: %lu\nMiss rate: %lf%%\n\n",
-        imem_accesses,
-        imisses,
-        ((double) imisses / (double) imem_accesses) * 100.0);
+    int i;
+    Cache *icache, *dcache;
+
+    g_autoptr(GString) rep = g_string_new("core #, data accesses, data misses,"
+                                          " dmiss rate, insn accesses,"
+                                          " insn misses, imiss rate\n");
+
+    for (i = 0; i < cores; i++) {
+        g_string_append_printf(rep, "%-8d", i);
+        dcache = dcaches[i];
+        icache = icaches[i];
+        append_stats_line(rep, dcache->accesses, dcache->misses,
+                icache->accesses, icache->misses);
+    }
+
+    if (cores > 1) {
+        sum_stats();
+        g_string_append_printf(rep, "%-8s", "sum");
+        append_stats_line(rep, all_dmem_accesses, all_dmisses,
+                all_imem_accesses, all_imisses);
+    }
 
+    g_string_append(rep, "\n");
     qemu_plugin_outs(rep->str);
 }
 
@@ -530,8 +611,8 @@ static void plugin_exit(qemu_plugin_id_t id, void *p)
     log_stats();
     log_top_insns();
 
-    cache_free(dcache);
-    cache_free(icache);
+    caches_free(dcaches);
+    caches_free(icaches);
 
     g_hash_table_destroy(miss_ht);
 }
@@ -579,6 +660,8 @@ int qemu_plugin_install(qemu_plugin_id_t id, const qemu_info_t *info,
 
     policy = LRU;
 
+    cores = sys ? qemu_plugin_n_vcpus() : 1;
+
     for (i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
         char *opt = argv[i];
         if (g_str_has_prefix(opt, "iblksize=")) {
@@ -595,6 +678,8 @@ int qemu_plugin_install(qemu_plugin_id_t id, const qemu_info_t *info,
             dcachesize = g_ascii_strtoll(opt + 11, NULL, 10);
         } else if (g_str_has_prefix(opt, "limit=")) {
             limit = g_ascii_strtoll(opt + 6, NULL, 10);
+        } else if (g_str_has_prefix(opt, "cores=")) {
+            cores = g_ascii_strtoll(opt + 6, NULL, 10);
         } else if (g_str_has_prefix(opt, "evict=")) {
             gchar *p = opt + 6;
             if (g_strcmp0(p, "rand") == 0) {
@@ -615,22 +700,25 @@ int qemu_plugin_install(qemu_plugin_id_t id, const qemu_info_t *info,
 
     policy_init();
 
-    dcache = cache_init(dblksize, dassoc, dcachesize);
-    if (!dcache) {
+    dcaches = caches_init(dblksize, dassoc, dcachesize);
+    if (!dcaches) {
         const char *err = cache_config_error(dblksize, dassoc, dcachesize);
         fprintf(stderr, "dcache cannot be constructed from given parameters\n");
         fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", err);
         return -1;
     }
 
-    icache = cache_init(iblksize, iassoc, icachesize);
-    if (!icache) {
+    icaches = caches_init(iblksize, iassoc, icachesize);
+    if (!icaches) {
         const char *err = cache_config_error(iblksize, iassoc, icachesize);
         fprintf(stderr, "icache cannot be constructed from given parameters\n");
         fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", err);
         return -1;
     }
 
+    dcache_locks = g_new0(GMutex, cores);
+    icache_locks = g_new0(GMutex, cores);
+
     qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_tb_trans_cb(id, vcpu_tb_trans);
     qemu_plugin_register_atexit_cb(id, plugin_exit, NULL);
 
diff --git a/contrib/plugins/execlog.c b/contrib/plugins/execlog.c
index 2de9f0d..a5275dc 100644
--- a/contrib/plugins/execlog.c
+++ b/contrib/plugins/execlog.c
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ static void vcpu_insn_exec(unsigned int cpu_index, void *udata)
     /* Print previous instruction in cache */
     if (s->len) {
         qemu_plugin_outs(s->str);
-        qemu_plugin_outs("s\n");
+        qemu_plugin_outs("\n");
     }
 
     /* Store new instruction in cache */
diff --git a/contrib/plugins/hotblocks.c b/contrib/plugins/hotblocks.c
index 4b08340..062200a 100644
--- a/contrib/plugins/hotblocks.c
+++ b/contrib/plugins/hotblocks.c
@@ -133,8 +133,18 @@ QEMU_PLUGIN_EXPORT
 int qemu_plugin_install(qemu_plugin_id_t id, const qemu_info_t *info,
                         int argc, char **argv)
 {
-    if (argc && strcmp(argv[0], "inline") == 0) {
-        do_inline = true;
+    for (int i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
+        char *opt = argv[i];
+        g_autofree char **tokens = g_strsplit(opt, "=", 2);
+        if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "inline") == 0) {
+            if (!qemu_plugin_bool_parse(tokens[0], tokens[1], &do_inline)) {
+                fprintf(stderr, "boolean argument parsing failed: %s\n", opt);
+                return -1;
+            }
+        } else {
+            fprintf(stderr, "option parsing failed: %s\n", opt);
+            return -1;
+        }
     }
 
     plugin_init();
diff --git a/contrib/plugins/hotpages.c b/contrib/plugins/hotpages.c
index bf53267..0d12910 100644
--- a/contrib/plugins/hotpages.c
+++ b/contrib/plugins/hotpages.c
@@ -169,16 +169,26 @@ int qemu_plugin_install(qemu_plugin_id_t id, const qemu_info_t *info,
 
     for (i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
         char *opt = argv[i];
-        if (g_strcmp0(opt, "reads") == 0) {
-            sort_by = SORT_R;
-        } else if (g_strcmp0(opt, "writes") == 0) {
-            sort_by = SORT_W;
-        } else if (g_strcmp0(opt, "address") == 0) {
-            sort_by = SORT_A;
-        } else if (g_strcmp0(opt, "io") == 0) {
-            track_io = true;
-        } else if (g_str_has_prefix(opt, "pagesize=")) {
-            page_size = g_ascii_strtoull(opt + 9, NULL, 10);
+        g_autofree char **tokens = g_strsplit(opt, "=", -1);
+
+        if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "sortby") == 0) {
+            if (g_strcmp0(tokens[1], "reads") == 0) {
+                sort_by = SORT_R;
+            } else if (g_strcmp0(tokens[1], "writes") == 0) {
+                sort_by = SORT_W;
+            } else if (g_strcmp0(tokens[1], "address") == 0) {
+                sort_by = SORT_A;
+            } else {
+                fprintf(stderr, "invalid value to sortby: %s\n", tokens[1]);
+                return -1;
+            }
+        } else if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "io") == 0) {
+            if (!qemu_plugin_bool_parse(tokens[0], tokens[1], &track_io)) {
+                fprintf(stderr, "boolean argument parsing failed: %s\n", opt);
+                return -1;
+            }
+        } else if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "pagesize") == 0) {
+            page_size = g_ascii_strtoull(tokens[1], NULL, 10);
         } else {
             fprintf(stderr, "option parsing failed: %s\n", opt);
             return -1;
diff --git a/contrib/plugins/howvec.c b/contrib/plugins/howvec.c
index 600f7fa..4a5ec3d 100644
--- a/contrib/plugins/howvec.c
+++ b/contrib/plugins/howvec.c
@@ -333,23 +333,34 @@ QEMU_PLUGIN_EXPORT int qemu_plugin_install(qemu_plugin_id_t id,
 
     for (i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
         char *p = argv[i];
-        if (strcmp(p, "inline") == 0) {
-            do_inline = true;
-        } else if (strcmp(p, "verbose") == 0) {
-            verbose = true;
-        } else {
+        g_autofree char **tokens = g_strsplit(p, "=", -1);
+        if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "inline") == 0) {
+            if (!qemu_plugin_bool_parse(tokens[0], tokens[1], &do_inline)) {
+                fprintf(stderr, "boolean argument parsing failed: %s\n", p);
+                return -1;
+            }
+        } else if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "verbose") == 0) {
+            if (!qemu_plugin_bool_parse(tokens[0], tokens[1], &verbose)) {
+                fprintf(stderr, "boolean argument parsing failed: %s\n", p);
+                return -1;
+            }
+        } else if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "count") == 0) {
+            char *value = tokens[1];
             int j;
             CountType type = COUNT_INDIVIDUAL;
-            if (*p == '!') {
+            if (*value == '!') {
                 type = COUNT_NONE;
-                p++;
+                value++;
             }
             for (j = 0; j < class_table_sz; j++) {
-                if (strcmp(p, class_table[j].opt) == 0) {
+                if (strcmp(value, class_table[j].opt) == 0) {
                     class_table[j].what = type;
                     break;
                 }
             }
+        } else {
+            fprintf(stderr, "option parsing failed: %s\n", p);
+            return -1;
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/contrib/plugins/hwprofile.c b/contrib/plugins/hwprofile.c
index faf216a..691d4ed 100644
--- a/contrib/plugins/hwprofile.c
+++ b/contrib/plugins/hwprofile.c
@@ -259,27 +259,42 @@ int qemu_plugin_install(qemu_plugin_id_t id, const qemu_info_t *info,
                         int argc, char **argv)
 {
     int i;
+    g_autoptr(GString) matches_raw = g_string_new("");
 
     for (i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
         char *opt = argv[i];
-        if (g_strcmp0(opt, "read") == 0) {
-            rw = QEMU_PLUGIN_MEM_R;
-        } else if (g_strcmp0(opt, "write") == 0) {
-            rw = QEMU_PLUGIN_MEM_W;
-        } else if (g_strcmp0(opt, "pattern") == 0) {
-            pattern = true;
-        } else if (g_strcmp0(opt, "source") == 0) {
-            source = true;
-        } else if (g_str_has_prefix(opt, "match")) {
-            gchar **parts = g_strsplit(opt, "=", 2);
+        g_autofree char **tokens = g_strsplit(opt, "=", 2);
+
+        if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "track") == 0) {
+            if (g_strcmp0(tokens[1], "read") == 0) {
+                rw = QEMU_PLUGIN_MEM_R;
+            } else if (g_strcmp0(tokens[1], "write") == 0) {
+                rw = QEMU_PLUGIN_MEM_W;
+            } else {
+                fprintf(stderr, "invalid value for track: %s\n", tokens[1]);
+                return -1;
+            }
+        } else if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "pattern") == 0) {
+            if (!qemu_plugin_bool_parse(tokens[0], tokens[1], &pattern)) {
+                fprintf(stderr, "boolean argument parsing failed: %s\n", opt);
+                return -1;
+            }
+        } else if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "source") == 0) {
+            if (!qemu_plugin_bool_parse(tokens[0], tokens[1], &source)) {
+                fprintf(stderr, "boolean argument parsing failed: %s\n", opt);
+                return -1;
+            }
+        } else if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "match") == 0) {
             check_match = true;
-            matches = g_strsplit(parts[1], ",", -1);
-            g_strfreev(parts);
+            g_string_append_printf(matches_raw, "%s,", tokens[1]);
         } else {
             fprintf(stderr, "option parsing failed: %s\n", opt);
             return -1;
         }
     }
+    if (check_match) {
+        matches = g_strsplit(matches_raw->str, ",", -1);
+    }
 
     if (source && pattern) {
         fprintf(stderr, "can only currently track either source or pattern.\n");
diff --git a/contrib/plugins/lockstep.c b/contrib/plugins/lockstep.c
index 7fd35eb..a41ffe8 100644
--- a/contrib/plugins/lockstep.c
+++ b/contrib/plugins/lockstep.c
@@ -319,22 +319,35 @@ QEMU_PLUGIN_EXPORT int qemu_plugin_install(qemu_plugin_id_t id,
                                            int argc, char **argv)
 {
     int i;
-
-    if (!argc || !argv[0]) {
-        qemu_plugin_outs("Need a socket path to talk to other instance.");
-        return -1;
-    }
+    g_autofree char *sock_path = NULL;
 
     for (i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
         char *p = argv[i];
-        if (strcmp(p, "verbose") == 0) {
-            verbose = true;
-        } else if (!setup_unix_socket(argv[0])) {
-            qemu_plugin_outs("Failed to setup socket for communications.");
+        g_autofree char **tokens = g_strsplit(p, "=", 2);
+
+        if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "verbose") == 0) {
+            if (!qemu_plugin_bool_parse(tokens[0], tokens[1], &verbose)) {
+                fprintf(stderr, "boolean argument parsing failed: %s\n", p);
+                return -1;
+            }
+        } else if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "sockpath") == 0) {
+            sock_path = tokens[1];
+        } else {
+            fprintf(stderr, "option parsing failed: %s\n", p);
             return -1;
         }
     }
 
+    if (sock_path == NULL) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "Need a socket path to talk to other instance.\n");
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    if (!setup_unix_socket(sock_path)) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "Failed to setup socket for communications.\n");
+        return -1;
+    }
+
     our_id = id;
 
     qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_tb_trans_cb(id, vcpu_tb_trans);
diff --git a/docs/about/deprecated.rst b/docs/about/deprecated.rst
index 1e1a5e9..6e88a84 100644
--- a/docs/about/deprecated.rst
+++ b/docs/about/deprecated.rst
@@ -139,6 +139,18 @@ The ``-no-quit`` is a synonym for ``-display ...,window-close=off`` which
 should be used instead.
 
 
+Plugin argument passing through ``arg=<string>`` (since 6.1)
+''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
+
+Passing TCG plugins arguments through ``arg=`` is redundant is makes the
+command-line less readable, especially when the argument itself consist of a
+name and a value, e.g. ``-plugin plugin_name,arg="arg_name=arg_value"``.
+Therefore, the usage of ``arg`` is redundant. Single-word arguments are treated
+as short-form boolean values, and passed to plugins as ``arg_name=on``.
+However, short-form booleans are deprecated and full explicit ``arg_name=on``
+form is preferred.
+
+
 QEMU Machine Protocol (QMP) commands
 ------------------------------------
 
diff --git a/docs/devel/ci-jobs.rst b/docs/devel/ci-jobs.rst
index 9cd9819..277975e 100644
--- a/docs/devel/ci-jobs.rst
+++ b/docs/devel/ci-jobs.rst
@@ -38,3 +38,14 @@ these artifacts are not already cached, downloading them make the jobs
 reach the timeout limit). Set this variable to have the tests using the
 Avocado framework run automatically.
 
+AARCH64_RUNNER_AVAILABLE
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+If you've got access to an aarch64 host that can be used as a gitlab-CI
+runner, you can set this variable to enable the tests that require this
+kind of host. The runner should be tagged with "aarch64".
+
+S390X_RUNNER_AVAILABLE
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+If you've got access to an IBM Z host that can be used as a gitlab-CI
+runner, you can set this variable to enable the tests that require this
+kind of host. The runner should be tagged with "s390x".
diff --git a/docs/devel/tcg-plugins.rst b/docs/devel/tcg-plugins.rst
index 047bf4a..dac5101 100644
--- a/docs/devel/tcg-plugins.rst
+++ b/docs/devel/tcg-plugins.rst
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ Once built a program can be run with multiple plugins loaded each with
 their own arguments::
 
   $QEMU $OTHER_QEMU_ARGS \
-      -plugin tests/plugin/libhowvec.so,arg=inline,arg=hint \
+      -plugin tests/plugin/libhowvec.so,inline=on,count=hint \
       -plugin tests/plugin/libhotblocks.so
 
 Arguments are plugin specific and can be used to modify their
@@ -193,17 +193,32 @@ Similar to hotblocks but this time tracks memory accesses::
   0x0000000048b000, 0x0001, 130594, 0x0001, 355
   0x0000000048a000, 0x0001, 1826, 0x0001, 11
 
+The hotpages plugin can be configured using the following arguments:
+
+  * sortby=reads|writes|address
+
+  Log the data sorted by either the number of reads, the number of writes, or
+  memory address. (Default: entries are sorted by the sum of reads and writes)
+
+  * io=on
+
+  Track IO addresses. Only relevant to full system emulation. (Default: off)
+
+  * pagesize=N
+
+  The page size used. (Default: N = 4096)
+
 - contrib/plugins/howvec.c
 
 This is an instruction classifier so can be used to count different
 types of instructions. It has a number of options to refine which get
-counted. You can give an argument for a class of instructions to break
-it down fully, so for example to see all the system registers
-accesses::
+counted. You can give a value to the `count` argument for a class of
+instructions to break it down fully, so for example to see all the system
+registers accesses::
 
   ./aarch64-softmmu/qemu-system-aarch64 $(QEMU_ARGS) \
     -append "root=/dev/sda2 systemd.unit=benchmark.service" \
-    -smp 4 -plugin ./contrib/plugins/libhowvec.so,arg=sreg -d plugin
+    -smp 4 -plugin ./contrib/plugins/libhowvec.so,count=sreg -d plugin
 
 which will lead to a sorted list after the class breakdown::
 
@@ -271,7 +286,7 @@ communicate over::
 
   ./sparc-softmmu/qemu-system-sparc -monitor none -parallel none \
     -net none -M SS-20 -m 256 -kernel day11/zImage.elf \
-    -plugin ./contrib/plugins/liblockstep.so,arg=lockstep-sparc.sock \
+    -plugin ./contrib/plugins/liblockstep.so,sockpath=lockstep-sparc.sock \
   -d plugin,nochain
 
 which will eventually report::
@@ -286,27 +301,27 @@ which will eventually report::
     previously @ 0x000000ffd08098/5 (809900593 insns)
     previously @ 0x000000ffd080c0/1 (809900588 insns)
 
-- contrib/plugins/hwprofile
+- contrib/plugins/hwprofile.c
 
 The hwprofile tool can only be used with system emulation and allows
 the user to see what hardware is accessed how often. It has a number of options:
 
- * arg=read or arg=write
+ * track=read or track=write
 
  By default the plugin tracks both reads and writes. You can use one
  of these options to limit the tracking to just one class of accesses.
 
- * arg=source
+ * source
 
  Will include a detailed break down of what the guest PC that made the
- access was. Not compatible with arg=pattern. Example output::
+ access was. Not compatible with the pattern option. Example output::
 
    cirrus-low-memory @ 0xfffffd00000a0000
     pc:fffffc0000005cdc, 1, 256
     pc:fffffc0000005ce8, 1, 256
     pc:fffffc0000005cec, 1, 256
 
- * arg=pattern
+ * pattern
 
  Instead break down the accesses based on the offset into the HW
  region. This can be useful for seeing the most used registers of a
@@ -345,7 +360,7 @@ which will output an execution trace following this structure::
   0, 0xd34, 0xf9c8f000, "bl #0x10c8"
   0, 0x10c8, 0xfff96c43, "ldr r3, [r0, #0x44]", load, 0x200000e4, RAM
 
-- contrib/plugins/cache
+- contrib/plugins/cache.c
 
 Cache modelling plugin that measures the performance of a given cache
 configuration when a given working set is run::
@@ -355,11 +370,8 @@ configuration when a given working set is run::
 
 will report the following::
 
-    Data accesses: 996479, Misses: 507
-    Miss rate: 0.050879%
-
-    Instruction accesses: 2641737, Misses: 18617
-    Miss rate: 0.704726%
+    core #, data accesses, data misses, dmiss rate, insn accesses, insn misses, imiss rate
+    0       996695         508             0.0510%  2642799        18617           0.7044%
 
     address, data misses, instruction
     0x424f1e (_int_malloc), 109, movq %rax, 8(%rcx)
@@ -377,29 +389,35 @@ will report the following::
 
 The plugin has a number of arguments, all of them are optional:
 
-  * arg="limit=N"
+  * limit=N
 
   Print top N icache and dcache thrashing instructions along with their
   address, number of misses, and its disassembly. (default: 32)
 
-  * arg="icachesize=N"
-  * arg="iblksize=B"
-  * arg="iassoc=A"
+  * icachesize=N
+  * iblksize=B
+  * iassoc=A
 
   Instruction cache configuration arguments. They specify the cache size, block
   size, and associativity of the instruction cache, respectively.
   (default: N = 16384, B = 64, A = 8)
 
-  * arg="dcachesize=N"
-  * arg="dblksize=B"
-  * arg="dassoc=A"
+  * dcachesize=N
+  * dblksize=B
+  * dassoc=A
 
   Data cache configuration arguments. They specify the cache size, block size,
   and associativity of the data cache, respectively.
   (default: N = 16384, B = 64, A = 8)
 
-  * arg="evict=POLICY"
+  * evict=POLICY
 
   Sets the eviction policy to POLICY. Available policies are: :code:`lru`,
   :code:`fifo`, and :code:`rand`. The plugin will use the specified policy for
   both instruction and data caches. (default: POLICY = :code:`lru`)
+
+  * cores=N
+
+  Sets the number of cores for which we maintain separate icache and dcache.
+  (default: for linux-user, N = 1, for full system emulation: N = cores
+  available to guest)
diff --git a/include/qemu/qemu-plugin.h b/include/qemu/qemu-plugin.h
index e6e815a..5f10172 100644
--- a/include/qemu/qemu-plugin.h
+++ b/include/qemu/qemu-plugin.h
@@ -577,4 +577,17 @@ int qemu_plugin_n_max_vcpus(void);
  */
 void qemu_plugin_outs(const char *string);
 
+/**
+ * qemu_plugin_bool_parse() - parses a boolean argument in the form of
+ * "<argname>=[on|yes|true|off|no|false]"
+ *
+ * @name: argument name, the part before the equals sign
+ * @val: argument value, what's after the equals sign
+ * @ret: output return value
+ *
+ * returns true if the combination @name=@val parses correctly to a boolean
+ * argument, and false otherwise
+ */
+bool qemu_plugin_bool_parse(const char *name, const char *val, bool *ret);
+
 #endif /* QEMU_PLUGIN_API_H */
diff --git a/linux-user/main.c b/linux-user/main.c
index 37ed50d..a609456 100644
--- a/linux-user/main.c
+++ b/linux-user/main.c
@@ -463,7 +463,7 @@ static const struct qemu_argument arg_table[] = {
      "",           "[[enable=]<pattern>][,events=<file>][,file=<file>]"},
 #ifdef CONFIG_PLUGIN
     {"plugin",     "QEMU_PLUGIN",      true,  handle_arg_plugin,
-     "",           "[file=]<file>[,arg=<string>]"},
+     "",           "[file=]<file>[,<argname>=<argvalue>]"},
 #endif
     {"version",    "QEMU_VERSION",     false, handle_arg_version,
      "",           "display version information and exit"},
diff --git a/plugins/api.c b/plugins/api.c
index 2d521e6..acff9ce 100644
--- a/plugins/api.c
+++ b/plugins/api.c
@@ -383,3 +383,8 @@ void qemu_plugin_outs(const char *string)
 {
     qemu_log_mask(CPU_LOG_PLUGIN, "%s", string);
 }
+
+bool qemu_plugin_bool_parse(const char *name, const char *value, bool *ret)
+{
+    return name && value && qapi_bool_parse(name, value, ret, NULL);
+}
diff --git a/plugins/loader.c b/plugins/loader.c
index 05df403..a4ec281 100644
--- a/plugins/loader.c
+++ b/plugins/loader.c
@@ -94,6 +94,8 @@ static int plugin_add(void *opaque, const char *name, const char *value,
 {
     struct qemu_plugin_parse_arg *arg = opaque;
     struct qemu_plugin_desc *p;
+    bool is_on;
+    char *fullarg;
 
     if (strcmp(name, "file") == 0) {
         if (strcmp(value, "") == 0) {
@@ -107,18 +109,32 @@ static int plugin_add(void *opaque, const char *name, const char *value,
             QTAILQ_INSERT_TAIL(arg->head, p, entry);
         }
         arg->curr = p;
-    } else if (strcmp(name, "arg") == 0) {
+    } else {
         if (arg->curr == NULL) {
             error_setg(errp, "missing earlier '-plugin file=' option");
             return 1;
         }
+
+        if (g_strcmp0(name, "arg") == 0 &&
+                !qapi_bool_parse(name, value, &is_on, NULL)) {
+            if (strchr(value, '=') == NULL) {
+                /* Will treat arg="argname" as "argname=on" */
+                fullarg = g_strdup_printf("%s=%s", value, "on");
+            } else {
+                fullarg = g_strdup_printf("%s", value);
+            }
+            warn_report("using 'arg=%s' is deprecated", value);
+            error_printf("Please use '%s' directly\n", fullarg);
+        } else {
+            fullarg = g_strdup_printf("%s=%s", name, value);
+        }
+
         p = arg->curr;
         p->argc++;
         p->argv = g_realloc_n(p->argv, p->argc, sizeof(char *));
-        p->argv[p->argc - 1] = g_strdup(value);
-    } else {
-        error_setg(errp, "-plugin: unexpected parameter '%s'; ignored", name);
+        p->argv[p->argc - 1] = fullarg;
     }
+
     return 0;
 }
 
diff --git a/plugins/meson.build b/plugins/meson.build
index e777230..bfd5c98 100644
--- a/plugins/meson.build
+++ b/plugins/meson.build
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
-if 'CONFIG_HAS_LD_DYNAMIC_LIST' in config_host
-  plugin_ldflags = ['-Wl,--dynamic-list=' + (meson.build_root() / 'qemu-plugins-ld.symbols')]
-elif 'CONFIG_HAS_LD_EXPORTED_SYMBOLS_LIST' in config_host
-  plugin_ldflags = ['-Wl,-exported_symbols_list,' + (meson.build_root() / 'qemu-plugins-ld64.symbols')]
-else
-  plugin_ldflags = []
+plugin_ldflags = []
+# Modules need more symbols than just those in plugins/qemu-plugins.symbols
+if not enable_modules
+  if 'CONFIG_HAS_LD_DYNAMIC_LIST' in config_host
+    plugin_ldflags = ['-Wl,--dynamic-list=' + (meson.build_root() / 'qemu-plugins-ld.symbols')]
+  elif 'CONFIG_HAS_LD_EXPORTED_SYMBOLS_LIST' in config_host
+    plugin_ldflags = ['-Wl,-exported_symbols_list,' + (meson.build_root() / 'qemu-plugins-ld64.symbols')]
+  endif
 endif
 
 specific_ss.add(when: 'CONFIG_PLUGIN', if_true: [files(
diff --git a/plugins/qemu-plugins.symbols b/plugins/qemu-plugins.symbols
index 40b4ff3..67b309e 100644
--- a/plugins/qemu-plugins.symbols
+++ b/plugins/qemu-plugins.symbols
@@ -1,37 +1,38 @@
 {
-  qemu_plugin_uninstall;
-  qemu_plugin_reset;
-  qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_init_cb;
+  qemu_plugin_bool_parse;
+  qemu_plugin_get_hwaddr;
+  qemu_plugin_hwaddr_is_io;
+  qemu_plugin_insn_data;
+  qemu_plugin_insn_disas;
+  qemu_plugin_insn_haddr;
+  qemu_plugin_insn_size;
+  qemu_plugin_insn_vaddr;
+  qemu_plugin_mem_is_big_endian;
+  qemu_plugin_mem_is_sign_extended;
+  qemu_plugin_mem_is_store;
+  qemu_plugin_mem_size_shift;
+  qemu_plugin_n_max_vcpus;
+  qemu_plugin_n_vcpus;
+  qemu_plugin_outs;
+  qemu_plugin_register_atexit_cb;
+  qemu_plugin_register_flush_cb;
   qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_exit_cb;
   qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_idle_cb;
-  qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_resume_cb;
+  qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_init_cb;
   qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_insn_exec_cb;
   qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_insn_exec_inline;
   qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_mem_cb;
   qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_mem_inline;
-  qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_tb_trans_cb;
-  qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_tb_exec_cb;
-  qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_tb_exec_inline;
-  qemu_plugin_register_flush_cb;
+  qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_resume_cb;
   qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_syscall_cb;
   qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_syscall_ret_cb;
-  qemu_plugin_register_atexit_cb;
-  qemu_plugin_tb_n_insns;
+  qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_tb_exec_cb;
+  qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_tb_exec_inline;
+  qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_tb_trans_cb;
+  qemu_plugin_reset;
   qemu_plugin_tb_get_insn;
+  qemu_plugin_tb_n_insns;
   qemu_plugin_tb_vaddr;
-  qemu_plugin_insn_data;
-  qemu_plugin_insn_size;
-  qemu_plugin_insn_vaddr;
-  qemu_plugin_insn_haddr;
-  qemu_plugin_insn_disas;
-  qemu_plugin_mem_size_shift;
-  qemu_plugin_mem_is_sign_extended;
-  qemu_plugin_mem_is_big_endian;
-  qemu_plugin_mem_is_store;
-  qemu_plugin_get_hwaddr;
-  qemu_plugin_hwaddr_is_io;
+  qemu_plugin_uninstall;
   qemu_plugin_vcpu_for_each;
-  qemu_plugin_n_vcpus;
-  qemu_plugin_n_max_vcpus;
-  qemu_plugin_outs;
 };
diff --git a/qemu-options.hx b/qemu-options.hx
index 83aa59a..4a9ee72 100644
--- a/qemu-options.hx
+++ b/qemu-options.hx
@@ -4532,19 +4532,18 @@ SRST
 
 ERST
 DEF("plugin", HAS_ARG, QEMU_OPTION_plugin,
-    "-plugin [file=]<file>[,arg=<string>]\n"
+    "-plugin [file=]<file>[,<argname>=<argvalue>]\n"
     "                load a plugin\n",
     QEMU_ARCH_ALL)
 SRST
-``-plugin file=file[,arg=string]``
+``-plugin file=file[,argname=argvalue]``
     Load a plugin.
 
     ``file=file``
         Load the given plugin from a shared library file.
 
-    ``arg=string``
-        Argument string passed to the plugin. (Can be given multiple
-        times.)
+    ``argname=argvalue``
+        Argument passed to the plugin. (Can be given multiple times.)
 ERST
 
 HXCOMM Internal use
diff --git a/tests/plugin/bb.c b/tests/plugin/bb.c
index de09bdd..7d470a1 100644
--- a/tests/plugin/bb.c
+++ b/tests/plugin/bb.c
@@ -104,10 +104,17 @@ QEMU_PLUGIN_EXPORT int qemu_plugin_install(qemu_plugin_id_t id,
 
     for (i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
         char *opt = argv[i];
-        if (g_strcmp0(opt, "inline") == 0) {
-            do_inline = true;
-        } else if (g_strcmp0(opt, "idle") == 0) {
-            idle_report = true;
+        g_autofree char **tokens = g_strsplit(opt, "=", 2);
+        if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "inline") == 0) {
+            if (!qemu_plugin_bool_parse(tokens[0], tokens[1], &do_inline)) {
+                fprintf(stderr, "boolean argument parsing failed: %s\n", opt);
+                return -1;
+            }
+        } else if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "idle") == 0) {
+            if (!qemu_plugin_bool_parse(tokens[0], tokens[1], &idle_report)) {
+                fprintf(stderr, "boolean argument parsing failed: %s\n", opt);
+                return -1;
+            }
         } else {
             fprintf(stderr, "option parsing failed: %s\n", opt);
             return -1;
diff --git a/tests/plugin/insn.c b/tests/plugin/insn.c
index c253980..0f6a193 100644
--- a/tests/plugin/insn.c
+++ b/tests/plugin/insn.c
@@ -62,8 +62,18 @@ QEMU_PLUGIN_EXPORT int qemu_plugin_install(qemu_plugin_id_t id,
                                            const qemu_info_t *info,
                                            int argc, char **argv)
 {
-    if (argc && !strcmp(argv[0], "inline")) {
-        do_inline = true;
+    for (int i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
+        char *opt = argv[i];
+        g_autofree char **tokens = g_strsplit(opt, "=", 2);
+        if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "inline") == 0) {
+            if (!qemu_plugin_bool_parse(tokens[0], tokens[1], &do_inline)) {
+                fprintf(stderr, "boolean argument parsing failed: %s\n", opt);
+                return -1;
+            }
+        } else {
+            fprintf(stderr, "option parsing failed: %s\n", opt);
+            return -1;
+        }
     }
 
     qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_tb_trans_cb(id, vcpu_tb_trans);
diff --git a/tests/plugin/mem.c b/tests/plugin/mem.c
index afd1d27..4570f7d 100644
--- a/tests/plugin/mem.c
+++ b/tests/plugin/mem.c
@@ -80,29 +80,40 @@ QEMU_PLUGIN_EXPORT int qemu_plugin_install(qemu_plugin_id_t id,
                                            const qemu_info_t *info,
                                            int argc, char **argv)
 {
-    if (argc) {
-        if (argc >= 3) {
-            if (!strcmp(argv[2], "haddr")) {
-                do_haddr = true;
-            }
-        }
-        if (argc >= 2) {
-            const char *str = argv[1];
 
-            if (!strcmp(str, "r")) {
+    for (int i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
+        char *opt = argv[i];
+        g_autofree char **tokens = g_strsplit(opt, "=", 2);
+
+        if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "haddr") == 0) {
+            if (!qemu_plugin_bool_parse(tokens[0], tokens[1], &do_haddr)) {
+                fprintf(stderr, "boolean argument parsing failed: %s\n", opt);
+                return -1;
+            }
+        } else if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "track") == 0) {
+            if (g_strcmp0(tokens[1], "r") == 0) {
                 rw = QEMU_PLUGIN_MEM_R;
-            } else if (!strcmp(str, "w")) {
+            } else if (g_strcmp0(tokens[1], "w") == 0) {
                 rw = QEMU_PLUGIN_MEM_W;
+            } else if (g_strcmp0(tokens[1], "rw") == 0) {
+                rw = QEMU_PLUGIN_MEM_RW;
+            } else {
+                fprintf(stderr, "invaild value for argument track: %s\n", opt);
+                return -1;
+            }
+        } else if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "inline") == 0) {
+            if (!qemu_plugin_bool_parse(tokens[0], tokens[1], &do_inline)) {
+                fprintf(stderr, "boolean argument parsing failed: %s\n", opt);
+                return -1;
+            }
+        } else if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "callback") == 0) {
+            if (!qemu_plugin_bool_parse(tokens[0], tokens[1], &do_callback)) {
+                fprintf(stderr, "boolean argument parsing failed: %s\n", opt);
+                return -1;
             }
-        }
-        if (!strcmp(argv[0], "inline")) {
-            do_inline = true;
-            do_callback = false;
-        } else if (!strcmp(argv[0], "both")) {
-            do_inline = true;
-            do_callback = true;
         } else {
-            do_callback = true;
+            fprintf(stderr, "option parsing failed: %s\n", opt);
+            return -1;
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/tests/plugin/syscall.c b/tests/plugin/syscall.c
index 6dd7109..484b48d 100644
--- a/tests/plugin/syscall.c
+++ b/tests/plugin/syscall.c
@@ -119,17 +119,26 @@ QEMU_PLUGIN_EXPORT int qemu_plugin_install(qemu_plugin_id_t id,
                                            const qemu_info_t *info,
                                            int argc, char **argv)
 {
-    if (argc == 0) {
-        statistics = g_hash_table_new_full(NULL, g_direct_equal, NULL, g_free);
-    } else {
-        for (int i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
-            if (g_strcmp0(argv[i], "print") != 0) {
-                fprintf(stderr, "unsupported argument: %s\n", argv[i]);
-                return -1;
+    bool do_print = false;
+
+    for (int i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
+        char *opt = argv[i];
+        g_autofree char **tokens = g_strsplit(opt, "=", 2);
+
+        if (g_strcmp0(tokens[0], "print") == 0) {
+            if (!qemu_plugin_bool_parse(tokens[0], tokens[1], &do_print)) {
+                fprintf(stderr, "boolean argument parsing failed: %s\n", opt);
             }
+        } else {
+            fprintf(stderr, "unsupported argument: %s\n", argv[i]);
+            return -1;
         }
     }
 
+    if (!do_print) {
+        statistics = g_hash_table_new_full(NULL, g_direct_equal, NULL, g_free);
+    }
+
     qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_syscall_cb(id, vcpu_syscall);
     qemu_plugin_register_vcpu_syscall_ret_cb(id, vcpu_syscall_ret);
     qemu_plugin_register_atexit_cb(id, plugin_exit, NULL);
diff --git a/tests/tcg/i386/Makefile.softmmu-target b/tests/tcg/i386/Makefile.softmmu-target
index fa9b1b9..9b9038d 100644
--- a/tests/tcg/i386/Makefile.softmmu-target
+++ b/tests/tcg/i386/Makefile.softmmu-target
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ run-plugin-%-with-libinsn.so:
 	$(call run-test, $@, \
 	  $(QEMU) -monitor none -display none \
 		  -chardev file$(COMMA)path=$@.out$(COMMA)id=output \
-                  -plugin ../../plugin/libinsn.so$(COMMA)arg=inline \
+                  -plugin ../../plugin/libinsn.so$(COMMA)inline=on \
 	    	  -d plugin -D $*-with-libinsn.so.pout \
 	   	  $(QEMU_OPTS) $*, \
 		  "$* on $(TARGET_NAME)")
diff --git a/tests/tcg/i386/Makefile.target b/tests/tcg/i386/Makefile.target
index b0a2128..a053ca3 100644
--- a/tests/tcg/i386/Makefile.target
+++ b/tests/tcg/i386/Makefile.target
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ endif
 # non-inline runs will trigger the duplicate instruction heuristics in libinsn.so
 run-plugin-%-with-libinsn.so:
 	$(call run-test, $@, $(QEMU) $(QEMU_OPTS) \
-	       -plugin ../../plugin/libinsn.so$(COMMA)arg=inline \
+	       -plugin ../../plugin/libinsn.so$(COMMA)inline=on \
 	       -d plugin -D $*-with-libinsn.so.pout $*, \
 		"$* (inline) on $(TARGET_NAME)")
 
diff --git a/tests/tcg/x86_64/Makefile.softmmu-target b/tests/tcg/x86_64/Makefile.softmmu-target
index 9896319..2afa329 100644
--- a/tests/tcg/x86_64/Makefile.softmmu-target
+++ b/tests/tcg/x86_64/Makefile.softmmu-target
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ run-plugin-%-with-libinsn.so:
 	$(call run-test, $@, \
 	  $(QEMU) -monitor none -display none \
 		  -chardev file$(COMMA)path=$@.out$(COMMA)id=output \
-                  -plugin ../../plugin/libinsn.so$(COMMA)arg=inline \
+                  -plugin ../../plugin/libinsn.so$(COMMA)inline=on \
 	    	  -d plugin -D $*-with-libinsn.so.pout \
 	   	  $(QEMU_OPTS) $*, \
 		  "$* on $(TARGET_NAME)")