For this example, we are creating a simple dropdown list. Clicking on a name in the dropdown list changes the frame on the right to display the appropriate data. All of this would be possible without a database, but someone would have to manually change the HTML every time data was changed or added. By using a database, the HTML contains only the formatting information, and the data is kept in a database. Each time the page is accessed, the display is dependent upon the data, and it is therefore dynamic.
Maintenance is minimal.
Costs are contained because you can avoid installing expensive database software on each desktop. The need for distributing data throughout your enterprise is replaced by a centralized data model, further reducing costs, and enhancing the ability to share appropriate information between members of your firm, co-counsel and clients. If you have any doubts, just remember - the world is a database. The biggest internet in the world. This worldwide information highway is comprised of thousands of interconnected computer networks, and reaches millions of people in many different countries.