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I would add that you do make a schematic design, but on paper. First think about the hardware you want, then write HDL to make it.
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That is a good point.
If you cannot draw a block diagram, or the block diagram looks too complicated, then often your design is too complicated.
I often apply this philosophy to my state machine designs; I get them working, then as I document them using Algorithmic State Machine (ASM) charts, I often realize that I can simplify them. (Often I can simply copy a working design and modify it too, or generalize it to cover a new use case).
Don - there are plenty of resources on this page (they're not all beginner level, but you can at least see examples of code and documentation).
https://www.ovro.caltech.edu/~dwh/correlator/cobra_docs.html Cheers,
Dave