If trying to build threaded parts of any kind in OpenSCAD, there's a persistent frustration that the only in-built method to extrude a shape both vertically and rotationally is to use linear_extrude, which keeps the extruded polygon parallel to the XY plane (more importantly, parallel to the direction of rotation). Ideally, when creating threads (or similar helical structures, like corkscrews, corkscrew marble channels, etc), it would be possible to use 2D geometry to describe the vertical cross-section of the helix and extrude that along a helical path.

Describe the solution you'd like
In a similar way that the twist parameter of linear_extrude extends linear (vertical) extrusion to do rotation as well, an optional height parameter for rotate_extrude could extend rotate extrusion to include vertical translation as well.

Describe alternatives you've considered
Common solutions involve implementing the rotation in OpenSCAD using hull() (which only works with convex cross-sections, or using linear_extrude() as in this user-created library, but these methods are painfully slow, and ad hoc for a function that is useful in many modeling contexts.

Additional context
I have implemented the height parameter in my copy of openscad (PR incoming), and the speedup for spiralizing a semi-complex (non-convex) thread cross-section is 100x in preview mode compared to the linked spiral_extrude library and 200x compared to my home-brewed hull()-based implementation (done by decomposing the cross-section into convex positive shapes and convex negative shapes, and differenceing the hulls). For a full render, the difference is even starker. The C++ implementation finishes in < 0.15s. Both other methods take 10s of minutes. (I'm still waiting for the faster one to finish, it's been at least 20 minutes. I can give actual benchmark numbers later, if required.)