SparkFun_MLX90640_Arduino_Example VS ESP-Google-Sheet-Client

We made abstractions successfully, world changing abstractions.

Do the NAND to Tetris course and see that tech is abstractions on top of abstractions. Electronics today is frequently represented by code. Check out Verilog or VHDL.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardware_description_language

Where electronics stayed interesting is in the realm where code meets reality -> robotics and art.

Playing with LED's, robotics competitions, quad copters, cosplay. Maybe adjacent to SDR. Raspberry Pi's and Arduinos.

Check out ADAFruit: https://www.adafruit.com/

or Sparkfun: https://www.sparkfun.com/

Check out sites like: https://hackaday.com/

There is also the greater cultures: Maker culture and hacker culture. Maker Faire is super interesting and has many many attendees.

I would say that in America, it is harder to work with electronics because the number of maker spaces and places you could buy parts (RadioShack/Fry's) greatly diminished, but afluent folks can definitely have an electronics hobby supplied by online vendors.

Sparkfun is a great resource for cheap supplies and tutorials sparkfun

It's really a golden age for EEs. If he likes to play/experiment with stuff, then a good online store is Sparkfun. My wife still gets me gift certificates from there & I love it. You can make/create A LOT of things from there. If he likes to program/software, you will find a lot there.

for specialized things, look for specialized sites or services. For example if you're buying spicy Korean ramen on Amazon because you can't find it locally, check to see if a service like Umamicart might deliver in your area. If you're ordering organic groceries from Whole Foods (Amazon), check to see if a service like Thrive Market might work for you. If you're into hobbyist electronics and want to pick up some Arduino gear, maybe check out SparkFun. Each of these companies is run by people who are passionate about the market they've specialized in and they're a better place to spend your money than Amazon.

The other reason to lean towards C++ is the land of ARduino. Arduino is a microcontroller board where people ( a lot of kids really) create real world projects. It is pretty cool as the hardware can be used to drive model servo's, read form sensors write to displays and offer a lot of fun to a technically inclined child. You can learn about Arduino here: https://www.arduino.cc/. This melds the world of programming with real world hardware and gives a kid plenty of avenues to follow. Some sites that encourage educational exploration with electronics: https://www.adafruit.com/, https://www.allelectronics.com/category/209/educational-kits/1.html, https://www.jameco.com/shop/keyword=Educational-Electronic-Kits, https://www.sparkfun.com/ and likely several hundred more. In any event mixing electronics and programming is a good way to learn both with a meaningful hobby. Robotics can really prime the interests in writing software.

Sparkfun sells tons of MCU dev/breakout and sensor boards, and the schematics are available for nearly all of them, along with "hookup guides". Look under the Documents tab for each product. You can learn a lot by studying these.

Other companies do this as well, like Sparkfun, DFRobot, Wemos/Lolin, etc. I feel that Adafruit goes the extra mile. And that has won my loyalty.

www.sparkfun.com

If you still want to continue, I reccomend something like this

This is the library I used: https://github.com/mobizt/ESP-Google-Sheet-Client