[Maxima] Simplify ladder operators

[Richard Fateman]

I haven't been following this thread in any detail, but the programming 
of bra/ket simplification has been,
I think, a fairly common topic. I think I even wrote some programs to do 
this with Bruce Char over 30 years ago.

In any case, my thought now is that local transformation rules is NOT 
the way to do this, except
 as a last resort.  Instead, is there a canonical representation that 
all these expressions can
be forced into?  One which will necessarily be simplified (with respect 
to that canonical form)?

Good luck.
RJf