Do all files have a hash / checksum?

I am curious If every single digital file has a hash and/or a checksum. When verifying my downloaded files using hdiutil on mac os, about 90% of my files report some sort of checksum. However, when i download .iso files or ubuntu / windows, img’s or iso’s, i’ve noticed many of my image files do not report a checksum. I always assumed that if it was data, it HAS to have a checksum, or it wouldnt be data in the first place. Could someone please tell me weather or not all digital files have a checksum, and if it is possible to have files with non existent checksums? Thank you for any info!

• The question has no sense. You can calculate millions of check sums for every file. "files with non existent checksums" - this statement has no sense. You can calculate check sum for every file you want. If you mean something different, change your question. – mentallurg Aug 31 '19 at 9:25
• The way it is worded it can be understood as if the question is: does every file contain a checksum. In this case the answer is No. But some do. – tum_ Aug 31 '19 at 11:44

A hash can be computed for any input, even for an empty input.

Some tools may display the output of some hash function, other tools may not.

If the file is large, it may take some time to compute, so tools may not display the hash immediately, only on-demand.

So this is more a question about specific software than cryptography.

Yes, you're right. Every file, no file inclusive, has a checksum. SHA1 of the empty string ("") is da39a3ee 5e6b4b0d 3255bfef 95601890 afd80709. If you submit a file for hashing (checksumming), it will produce a valid output. Non display of the hash output is not related to the determination of the hash.

A hash/checksum can be calculated for any data.

However, it is up to the person publishing the file as to whether they will calculate and publish the hash.