An essay on discrete foundations for physics

We base our theory of physics and cosmology on the five principles of finiteness, discreteness, finite computability, absolute non- uniqueness, and strict construction. Our modeling methodology starts from the current practice of physics, constructs a self-consistent representation based on the ordering operator calculus and provides rules of correspondence that allow us to test the theory by experiment. We use program universe to construct a growing collection of bit strings whose initial portions (labels) provide the quantum numbers that are conserved in the events defined by the construction. The labels are followed by content strings which are used to construct event-based finite and discrete coordinates. On general grounds such a theory has a limiting velocity, and positions and velocities do not commute. We therefore reconcile quantum mechanics with relativity at an appropriately fundamental stage in the construction. We show that events in different coordinate systems are connected by the appropriate finite and discrete version of the Lorentz transformation, that 3-momentum is conserved in events, and that this conservation law is the same as the requirement that different paths can ''interfere'' only when they differ by an integral number of deBroglie wavelengths. 38 refs., 12 figs., 3 tabs