The tag <bean:define> is typically used to define scripting variables. My interpretation has always been that it should be used for run-time decisions, but I don't think this is spelled out anywhere. Most beans should be instantiated and placed into context (request, session, etc...) by an Action. If it is a form bean, it may be specified in the struts-config.xml, in which case the form bean will automatically be placed into context as appropriate. As a side note, form beans should only have properties which are
String, booleans, other form beans, or Collections or arrays of Strings, booleans, and other form-beans.
As for your specific problem, does your bean have a method getSessionTime(), with the 'S' in "Session" capitalized? Assuming this is true, what happens if you change your internal representation of sessionTime from a long to a String?
[ January 19, 2003: Message edited by: Jason Menard ]