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]."