Here is an easy way to view Magento’s module tree after dependency sorting has been applied.
# File: app/code/core/Mage/Core/Model/Config.php
# Method: _loadDeclaredModules()
# Line: around 830
foreach ($moduleDepends as $moduleProp) {
$node = $unsortedConfig->getNode('modules/'.$moduleProp['module']);
$sortedConfig->getNode('modules')->appendChild($node);
}
// Add these lines to output the sorted config as an array
$modules = array_keys((array)$sortedConfig->getNode('modules')->children());
print_r($modules);
die;
$this->extend($sortedConfig);