old user import need advice

Doing a site update for a client. Old hand coded site has two tables of users with extensive history in linked tables. I need to keep these thousands of historical records linked to their users by the id numbers.

I've got all the data in my component. But now I want to import these users into Joomla and link the joomla user ID to the extended information in the two radically different tables.

Those in table A will have a different ACL than those in table B.

Table A has user IDs 1-9000, Table B has different users, IDs 1-18000.

So I need new users in the system 1-27000 linked to the right users in the right tables, but somehow keeping the relationship with data in the history tables.

I know I need to update more than joomla user table, but not sure which others?

And I have no idea how to proceed.

I'm just wondering if anyone with more experience has a suggestion on how to handle this?

Thanks, Victor!

I know it is outside of your component -- hence my request for advice in the forum rather than support. (grin) I'm confident the database will be much simpler when I'm done!!! I figured someone else in this group of folks might have encountered or might encounter this in future.

When someone has over-designed a database, that's when we get called in to fix it, right?

Thanks for the advice. I do appreciate it.

I think I've got a solution. Using the user set with the least amount of additional linking tables, I'm going to adjust their user id to current id + (# greater than other table highest id value) and then do the same in each of the related fields. This should keep the relationships intact while allowing me to combine Tables A and B. Then I just have to import them into the affected Joomla tables...