@RohanKarthik I would  have formulated the question this way:
Among all the terms A*x^a*y^b  satisfying a - b \in {0,-1}  of a polynomial f(x,y) ,
find the one for which a+b is minimal.

Or, solve:

min { a+b  |  x^a*y^b is a monomial in f(x,y) and a - b \in {0,-1} }.

@zphaze It is not possible to guess user's intentions so easily. f and f(x) may coexist in a legit expression:

plot(sin + sin(1), 0..2*Pi);

is equivalent to

plot(sin(x)+sin(1), x=0..2*Pi);

@ecterrab It is a bit strange to have 2 kinds of inert versions without being equivalent.
E.g. %int is transformed into Int by IntegrationTools but %gcd does not work under mod.
It should be chosen a wise and uniform decision about this. Of course, Gcd etc could be seen as "special" inert forms, and that's it!
 

@mthkvv 

restart;
p := 10^140:
a := modp1(ConvertIn((2*10^139+13)+x^1000-x^2,x),p):
save(p, a, "d:/tmp/pab.m");
restart;
read "d:/tmp/pab.m"; # ok
modp1(ConvertOut(a),p)[1] - (2*10^139+13); # 0
 

@acer Even after local gamma,  evalf(gamma(0)); ==> 0.57...   etc
due to `evalf/gamma`;
 

@janhardo You should be aware that Maple can help (in Calculus here) only at a formal level. To understand things you must study carefully a good textbook and be able to solve at least the simple exercises by hand. Not doing so, you are wasting your time.

@janhardo Is this a question, whether f(x) and f(y) are two functions?
You have only one f, in two variables. y is a variable, no y(x) here! 
Try to use proper terms and notations, otherwise everything becomes a mess.

@mthkvv I'd consider writing a procedure P(m) using some generated polynomials (preferably with known results).
Then call P(m) for an increasing sequence of m's inside CodeTools:-Usage and try to figure out the amount of needed memory as a function of m. [It probably also depends of how dense the polynomials are].

@Pascal4QM `--` is an assignment operator in Maple 2020 (2019?)

I don't think that a teacher would be very happy to see one of his students writing: -3 - -5  (unless he missed the class about parantheses).
The next level would be:  --5+-7-+2++3*-1
 

@mmcdara Unfortunately it is easy to find modern "applied" math formulations: "The function y = f(x) ..." or "Let f(x) be the function ...".
Even Maple is not very careful with the math terminology. E.g. a better name for the type function would have been funcall.

@Carl Love It should be better:

proc(L::{list, set}, $) option overload; ilcm__orig(L[]) end proc

@acer  Let's consider just polynomials in one variable over Q.
Is there a good simplifier for them? compoly could be a candidate but it most often fails.
ex := -10*x^9 + 45*x^8 - 120*x^7 + 210*x^6 - 252*x^5 + 210*x^4 - 120*x^3 + 45*x^2 - 11*x + 1;

@nm If you need all the chains for each eigenvalue then this is equivalent with finding the Jordan form and the transition matrix. So practically you will have to program a new JordanForm. It remains to see whether it will be better than Maple's version.

@dharr  Maple computes diff(HeunB(a1,a2,a3,a4, u(z)), z,z);  with a formula having u(z) at the denominator.