Hi Bruno
You do realize the thread is a bit old.
I find the old school correct answer to be cooler than sort/read combination. Sorting entire table just to get a max/min value feels like overkill. However, sort/read has better readability.
To make it cooler, you can create a class method that does it dynamically.
max_order = zcl_itab=>max( itab , 'ORDER' ).