A system and method that enhances the data access performance of a multi-layer relational database manager by expanding the code generation component layer of the database manager to include a number of performance enhancing subroutines designed to execute functions performed by lower component layers substantially faster than if the functions were executed by such lower component layers. Each such subroutine includes logic for establishing the conditions under which the particular subroutine is invoked during the processing of a SQL request. During process of generating code for a specific SQL query, the code generation component layer inserts calls to the different performance enhancing subroutines in place of normally included calls to lower component layers. This results in the insertion of the different performance enhancing subroutines into the generated code. Such routines enable the dynamically generated code at query execution time to perform lower component layer functions based on the characteristics of the original query statement resulting in increased performance.