The shift-transformation matrix of general discrete orthogonal polynomials is introduced. General discrete orthogonal polynomials are adopted to obtain the modified discrete Euler-Lagrange equations. Then general discrete orthogonal polynomials are applied to simplify the discrete Euler-Lagrange equations into a set of linear algebraic ones for the approximation of state and control variables of digital systems. An example is included to demonstrate the simplicity and applicability of the method. Also, a comparison of the results obtained via several classical discrete orthogonal polynomials for the same problem is given.