understanding the __libc_init_array

I viewed the source code of __libc_init_array from http://newlib.sourcearchive.com/documentation/1.18.0/init_8c-source.html .
But I don't quite understand what this function does.

I know that these symbols

/* These magic symbols are provided by the linker.  */
extern void (*__preinit_array_start []) (void) __attribute__((weak));
extern void (*__preinit_array_end []) (void) __attribute__((weak));
extern void (*__init_array_start []) (void) __attribute__((weak));
extern void (*__init_array_end []) (void) __attribute__((weak));
extern void (*__fini_array_start []) (void) __attribute__((weak));
extern void (*__fini_array_end []) (void) __attribute__((weak));

is defined in the linker script.
Part of the linker script may look like:

  .preinit_array     :
  {
    PROVIDE_HIDDEN (__preinit_array_start = .);
    KEEP (*(.preinit_array*))
    PROVIDE_HIDDEN (__preinit_array_end = .);
  } >FLASH
  .init_array :
  {
    PROVIDE_HIDDEN (__init_array_start = .);
    KEEP (*(SORT(.init_array.*)))
    KEEP (*(.init_array*))
    PROVIDE_HIDDEN (__init_array_end = .);
  } >FLASH
  ...

and then I searched with the key "init_array" in the docs of ELF-v1.1, gcc 4.7.2, ld, and codesourcery(I'm using codesourcery g++ lite) only to get nothing.

Where can I find the specification of these symbols?