# Atomic and Composite Instructions

Instructions in a task are categorized into two types: **atomic** and **composite**.

1. **Atomic Instructions**\
   These are simple, indivisible operations that can be directly executed by the system’s Instruction Set Architecture (ISA). For example:
   * `arith.mul` (multiplication of two ciphertexts).\
     Atomic instructions require no further breakdown and are ready to be executed as-is.
2. **Composite Instructions**\
   These are higher-level operations that consist of multiple atomic instructions. For example:

   * `polycircuit.relu` (a non-linear activation function).\
     A composite instruction like `RELU` might be implemented as a sequence of comparisons, multiplications, and additions.

   The orchestration layer can **unroll** composite instructions into their atomic components when:

   * No system actor is available to execute the composite instruction directly.
   * Breaking the composite instruction down allows better parallel execution or resource usage.


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