Polynomial degree reduction in the discrete L₂-norm equals best Euclidean approximation of h-Bézier coefficients

We show that the best degree reduction of a given polynomial P from degree n to m with respect to the discrete (Formula presented.) -norm is equivalent to the best Euclidean distance of the vector of h-Bézier coefficients of P from the vector of degree raised h-Bézier coefficients of polynomials of degree m. Moreover, we demonstrate the adequacy of h-Bézier curves for approaching the problem of weighted discrete least squares approximation. Applications to discrete orthogonal polynomials are also presented.