We give a $q$-analog of middle convolution for linear $q$-difference equations with rational coefficients. In the differential case, middle convolution is defined by Katz, and he examined properties of middle convolution in detail. In this paper, we define a $q$-analog of middle convolution. Moreover, we show that it also can be expressed as a $q$-analog of Euler transformation. The $q$-middle convolution transforms Fuchsian type equation to Fuchsian type equation and preserves rigidity index of $q$-difference equations.
Schlesinger transformations are algebraic transformations of a Fuchsian system that preserve its monodromy representation and act on the characteristic indices of the system by integral shifts. One of the important reasons to study such transformations is the relationship between Schlesinger transformations and discrete Painleve equations; this is also the main theme behind our work. We derive emph{discrete Schlesinger evolution equations} describing discrete dynamical systems generated by elementary Schlesinger transformations and give their discrete Hamiltonian description w.r.t.~the standard symplectic structure on the space of Fuchsian systems. As an application, we compute explicitly two examples of reduction from Schlesinger transformations to difference Painleve equations. The first example, d-$Pbig(D_{4}^{(1)}big)$ (or difference Painleve V), corresponds to Backlund transformations for continuous $P_{text{VI}}$. The second example, d-$Pbig(A_{2}^{(1)*}big)$ (with the symmetry group $E_{6}^{(1)}$), is purely discrete. We also describe the role played by the geometry of the Okamoto space of initial conditions in comparing different equations of the same type.
