Selenium WebDriver : findElement() Vs findElements() functions

It is very important to know the difference between findElement() and findElements() functions and here you go for it :

findElement() :

1. Find the first element within the current page using the given "locating mechanism".
2. Returns a single WebElement.
3. Syntax: WebElement findElement(By by)

Ex:

view plainprint?

1. driver.get("https://signup.live.com");  
2. WebElement firstName=driver.findElement(By.id("iFirstName"));  
3. firstName.sendKeys("Automated First Name");  

findElements() :

1. Find all elements within the current page using the given "locating mechanism".
2. Returns List of WebElements.
3. Syntax:  java.util.List<WebElement> findElements(By by)

Ex:

view plainprint?

1. driver.get("https://signup.live.com");  
2. List <webelement> textboxes1=driver.findElements(By.xpath("//input[@type='text']"));  
3. System.out.println("total textboxes "+textboxes1.size());  
4.   
5. </webelement>