Go was designed specifically as a better C++ (that is, a better successor to C). Its use as a Sawzall replacement was a lucky accident, I think -- that just happened to be the first niche where it took hold.
Sawzall was not a widely-liked language, so people had already been trying to replace it with Python, but Go had better performance and stronger typing so it was a better fit. Go really found its footing as a better Python (for some use cases) rather than a better C++.
Sawzall was not a widely-liked language, so people had already been trying to replace it with Python, but Go had better performance and stronger typing so it was a better fit. Go really found its footing as a better Python (for some use cases) rather than a better C++.