A buffer accessible by an application executing under an application server in a first address space is managed by a database adapter executing in a second address space. A data request from the application executing in said first address space, comprising a buffer locator in the empty state, is received by the database adapter executing in the second address space. A buffer is allocated in the first address space and the address of this buffer is stored in the buffer locator. Data associated with the data request, received from a database subsystem, is copied to the buffer. Control is then transferred back to the application whereby the application utilizes the buffer locator to access the buffer and process the data contained therein. A database adapter automatically managing application buffers across address spaces in accordance with the present invention may be referred to as an "auto-buffer database adapter".