Understand the problem
Restate the problem precisely. Interviewers reward candidates who pause, define the contract, and name the guarantees before coding.
Given a string `s` containing only three types of characters: `'('`, `')'` and `'*'`, return `true` if `s` is valid. The following rules define a valid string: any left parenthesis `'('` must have a matching right parenthesis `')'`, any right parenthesis `')'` must have a matching left parenthesis `'('`, left parenthesis `'('` must go before the corresponding right parenthesis `')'`, and `'*'` could be treated as a single right parenthesis `')'` or a single left parenthesis `'('` or an empty string `""`.
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