Install dir is a copy (not a symlink) and is NOT preserving symlinks of the output directory

[jjmaestro]

In cc_external_rule_impl() we have:
https://github.com/bazelbuild/rules_foreign_cc/blob/9d5727d5e51bf1be8423dff7996bdb4d847b47e6/foreign_cc/private/framework.bzl#L415-L422

However, copy_directory() is, as its name indicates, (1) copying (NOT symlinking) the given directory and (2) the copy itself also DOES NOT preserve symlinks, because it's doing cp -L (follow symlinks):
https://github.com/bazelbuild/rules_foreign_cc/blob/9d5727d5e51bf1be8423dff7996bdb4d847b47e6/foreign_cc/private/framework/toolchains/linux_commands.bzl#L88-L92

Is this intended? and/or what's the rationale behind this? I tried blaming the code and didn't find much :-/

IMHO, at the very least, I think that cp should use -P to NOT follow symlinks. And, while at it, it should use -R and not -r to avoid portability issues.