Equity options are the default contract most retail traders meet first. They are american-style-options, so the holder can exercise any day up to expiration-date, and they settle in shares rather than cash.
That combination creates the practical risks that index traders never see: early-assignment around an ex-dividend date, pin-risk at expiration, and an unwanted 100-share position on Monday morning if you forget to close a short leg.
Example: you are short one XYZ $50 put and XYZ closes expiration at $49.80. Under exercise-by-exception you are assigned 100 shares at $50, paying $5,000 for stock worth $4,980. The trade is fine if you wanted the shares, and a problem if your account had $1,000 in it.
Related: index-option, american-style-option, early-assignment, physically-settled-option