queue.py

#!/usr/bin/env

from Queue import *
from threading import Thread, Lock


#  this function will process the
#  items in the queue, in serial

def processor():
    if queue.empty() == True:
        #  comparison to True should
        #  be 'if cond is True:' or
        #  'if cond:' [pep8]
        print "Queue Empty"
        sys.exit(1)

    try:
        job = queue.get()
        print "I'm operating on job item: %s" % (job)
        queue.task_done()
    except:
        print "Failed to work on job"

#  set variables
queue = Queue()
threads = 4

#  your list of job items
jobs = ["job1", "job2", "job3"]

#  iterate over jobs and put each into
#  the queue in sequence
for job in jobs:
    print "Adding job to queue: %s" % (job)
    queue.put(job)

#  start threads, each one will process
#  one job from the queue
for i in range(threads):
    th = Thread(target=processor)
    th.setDaemon(True)
    th.start()

#  wait untill all jobs are processed before quitting
queue.join()