In my university publications, I notice that many enumerations use "as well" [1] instead of "and" [2]. Is this just to make the text look more sophisticated or is there a real semantic difference? When should I use one or the other?
[1] "The algorithm can process text as well as binary files."
[2] "The algorithm can process text and binary files."
As well has a different meaning from and.
As well is used mostly in spoken English. In written English, people usually prefer to use also:
Parents are also welcome.
And apart from that, as well as is also slightly different from as well:
as well as something/somebody: in addition to something or someone else
Your final sentence won't turn into a false meaning if you replace as well as with and; however that sentence wants to imply that "not only this algorithm is capable of processing text, but also it can process binary files, [too]."
"as well" in an enumeration makes the first mentioned item more important than the second, whereas "and" normally does not.
I agree with the other answers, but I believe that there should have been more focus on the in addition to alternative. And I agree that “A as well as B” emphasizes A. It seems to me that this would apply to situations where the audience would expect the statement to be true about B, but might be surprised to hear it about A. For example,
The shareholders’ meeting will be attended by men and women.
The shareholders’ meeting will be attended by children as well as adults.
So, in your example, I’d think
The algorithm can process binary files as well as text files.
might actually be more appropriate.
The use of and can sometimes mean (specifically with regard to algorithms and the like) that both options can/must be true at the same time. If your algorithm cannot process both text files and binary files simultaneously then the use of and might not be exactly correct in all possible interpretations.
By using as well as or in addition to the writer is more clearly stating that these are two separate options that can be achieved independently to one another.
Perhaps an even clearer version would be:
The algorithm is capable of processing either text or binary files.
In the specific case you mentioned, when discussing performance, it's possible that "as well" could mean "just as well", as in "just as quickly" or "with equal functionality". If the algorithm can process binary files very effectively, and its ability to process text files was previously either minor or nonexistent but it can now process text files effectively, then an author could say "it can process text as well as binary files" to mean that the algorithm is equally capable of processing both.
Consider the sentences:
1) I invited my mother as well as my father.
2) I invited my mother and father.
Sentence #2 implies that the speaker's mother and father are together as part of a social unit. Sentence #1 implies that they are somehow separate, at least in terms of the context of the invitation.
