Learning about CPLD... most CPLD manufactureres (Xilinix, Altera etc)have (limited capability) free software some of it is very well documented. The best place to learn about CPLD is the philosophy department at your local university (they teach boolean algebra).
If that scares you some of the software has schematic capture which works with you designing your circuit using 74... chips which the software then converts to a bitmap for the CPLD. I, personally, much prefer the boolean approach. Another advantage of using CPLD rather than discrete logic is that the simulator is part of the package and thus more likely to work than some "universal" software.

Have fun,

Erik