from datetime import datetime


def create_output_folder_name(suffix=None):
    """
    Creates the name of the output folder. The name is a combination of the current date, time, and an optional suffix.

    :param suffix: str, folder name suffix
    :return:       str, name of the output directory
    """

    # Record start execution date and time
    now = datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M')

    # Prepare path to subdirectory within the result directory
    name = '_'.join([now, suffix]) if suffix else now

    return name