Discontinued operations - Additional Information (Detail) - Comnet Telecom Division [Member] - USD ($)	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
Jul. 31, 2018	Jul. 31, 2018
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Discontinued Operation, Tax Effect of Discontinued Operation	$ 38,000	$ 102,000
Discontinued Operation, Income (Loss) from Discontinued Operation, before Income Tax	$ 127,000	$ 380,000

Amount before tax of income (loss) from a discontinued operation. Includes, but is not limited to, the income (loss) from operations during the phase-out period, gain (loss) on disposal, gain (loss) for reversal of write-down (write-down) to fair value, less cost to sell, and adjustments to a prior period gain (loss) on disposal.

Amount of tax expense (benefit) related to a discontinued operation. Includes, but is not limited to, tax expense (benefit) related to income (loss) from operations during the phase-out period, tax expense (benefit) related to gain (loss) on disposal, tax expense (benefit) related to gain (loss) for reversal of write-down (write-down) to fair value, less cost to sell, and tax expense (benefit) related to adjustments of a prior period gain (loss) on disposal.

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