We consider discrete behaviors with varying coefficients. Our results are new also for one-dimensional systems over the time-axis of natural numbers and for varying coefficients in a field, we derive the results, however, in much greater generality: Instead of the natural numbers we use an arbitrary submonoid N of an abelian group, for instance the standard multidimensional lattice of r-dimensional vectors of natural numbers or integers. We replace the base field by any commuta-tive self-injective ring F, for instance a direct product of fields or a quasi-Frobenius ring or a finite factor ring of the integers. The F-module W of functions from N to F is the canonical discrete signal module and is a left module over the natural associated noncommutative ring A of difference operators with variable coefficients. Our main result states that this module is injective and therefore satisfies the fundamental principle: An inhomogeneous system of linear difference equations with variable coefficients has a solution if and only if the right side satisfies the canoni-cal compatibility conditions. We also show that for the typical cases of partial difference equations and in contrast to the case of constant coefficients the A-module W is not a cogenerator. We also generalize the standard one-dimensional theory for periodic coefficients to the multidimensional situation by invoking Morita equivalence. AMS-classification: 93C05, 93C55, 16D50, 39A06, 39A14